At this point I think we can all agree that the great nation that America once was is on the slope towards internal demolition. Think about this for a moment: the the falling of every industry begins with the law. When the law is allowed to make the rules and regulations and when lawyers are in charge of who does what and how they do it, then the advancement of industry takes a back seat to compliance. How is it possible for a business to thrive when business owners are constantly looking over their shoulder; looking out for the law to bite them in the ass. Looking out not for the best interest of growth and expansion, but rather peaking through a hole behind a bullet proof wall waiting for a ticking legal time bomb.
Before he said, "I am not a crook." Richard Nixon said, "a nation like a person has to have a certain inner drive in order to succeed." Inner drive is a phrase that I think has become more difficult to realize; and less likely to inspire. The more hoops the law creates, the less strength an inspired person can give towards his own inner drive.
America's inner drive used to be provided by the blood, sweat and tears of the inspired. People like Fiorello La Guardia, Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, Art Rooney, Steve Jobs, Lindsay Lohan, Lil' Wayne, Dane Cook. All these inspired people saw an opening in a market and filled that void with their own inspiration. Their own ideas. Prospering from their own inner drive. All of these people also had spectacular legal defense teams in their corner. Is this the same inner drive that Nixon was talking about when he made that speech? Is the inner drive of an individual represented in the nation? Not anymore. Again I say it's all about who gets what. The builders of this country in the beginning of the 20th century were determined to watch industrial times prosper; to see the nation grow for the better. If not for the inspiration of the builders of places like the Empire State Building, the Sears Tower, Heinz Feild, the nation would be worse off, but the inspiration would still live in the soles of all Americans. Today it takes an act of Congress (figuratively speaking) to get anything done. Inspiration gets sacked by legalization. Industry takes a 2x4 across the nose. Innovation gets tarred and feathered by pencil pushers. In the 1920's during prohibition, do you know who were the biggest violators of the Volstead Act? It wasn't the mob in Chicago, it wasn't the rum runners in the Carolinas, it was the very people who voted for it's placement in the legal system. Congressman and Senators of both parties were running booze through their districts by the barrel. They did this in the open air. Why? They could. How? The law can be manipulated to protect those who it serves best. The folks like my great grandfather, making gin in their basement tubs were constantly harassed by law enforcement. Did the law protect his best interests? The best interest of his family? No. Why not? Because he was an immigrant, probably didn't vote, definitely didn't give endorsements to political figures. He did what he had to do to keep food on the table. To support his family. And constantly looked over his shoulder for it.
The law has become our new industry. We don't build, create, inspire through blood, sweat and tears. We tweak, we bend, we manipulate in order to smooth the rough edges of past creations. But then again, I could be full of crap. You decide.
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