Each day I try to come up with a thought worthy of a day spent on this Earth. Sometimes I think I’ve come up with something new, but I will bet everything that I can’t do that in any meaningful way. Because the realm of things that are new in the world is outside my mental grasp, as it is for most people. The best that most of us do is see a situation, figure what piece of pre-existing human knowledge or wisdom fits, and then phrase it in a way that establishes that linkage.
Benjamin Franklin said that those who sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither. This came to mind when I began thinking about what an acceptable failure rate in society is. Of course, “failure rate in society” is a pretty vague term, but for this thought, let’s just think in terms of 1) homeless, or dependent on government assistance to avoid same, 2) in prison, 3) other similar situations where the person has lost control of their own destiny.
I’m pretty sure that the failure rate in a free society, like the bankruptcy rate in a capitalist economy, should be greater than zero. If nobody is failing, then nobody is being allowed to make bad decisions, therefor the society isn’t free. Because we know from history: left to their own devices, a certain percentage of society will make bad decisions.
I’m not sure where this thought came from, or what it relates to, but I think of it as something worth filing away. Because some time or another, something will happen that will give me the chance to pull out my “failure rate in society exceeds zero” thought. And there just might be some value in the general guidance that thought can provide.
G’day, all, and may God continue to bless America, even the California Sixth Congressional District.
