By R.C. Seely
AMERICA IS THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY, if you aren’t afraid to get to your hands dirty and work for it. That’s not good enough for some people. Not only do they disagree with the idea of “equal opportunity” being fair, they believe we need “equal results” and in the world of safe spaces and free speech zones, they can end up suppressing the discussion.
In come the opportunists–proponents of the progressive agenda–to aid them by further reinforcing their feelings of social inadequacy and impotence. You are the victim and due. There‘s even a social buzzword for it: Microaggressions. Besides the clear violation of freedom of speech, as an entrepreneur, I find this repulsive and insulting.
Here’s why: I went to trade school, while working during that year. It also included about 600 clinical hours and having to take both a national and state exam, which required going out of state to take. That was only the beginning–after that the work of building a clientele list and my career began. It wasn’t easy, and it didn’t go as planned. Because of the local market, I abandoned the job after putting my all into it.
Since then, I have picked myself up and tried this writing thing. It’s unclear if it will pay off or not, but at least I’m trying it. I’m making sacrifices and paying my dues, because that’s the responsible thing to do. But it’s what I enjoy doing and has prospects. There’s no safety net however, so if it fails, it means getting up again and trying something else. That’s what an entrepreneur does, but when working for others it could still be necessary to pay your dues.
There are days that you get discouraged and consider throwing in the towel and sticking with that day job. It offers a degree of security but also the risk of being terminated. The risks if occupational self-sufficiency is worth it for those who possess the grit to see it through to the end. The euphoria felt after each accomplishment does outweigh the feeling of defeat from the failings. And each time you falter you will learn from it.
This acquiescence to the wave of Microaggressions is hurting this country, not only is encumbering speech but in discouraging others from even trying. Why go through the heartache of entrepreneurship, when you can have the same thing guaranteed without the effort? Because the effort is what truly matters. It’s what makes the results worth it.
The land of opportunity is still alive in the USA, despite the Microaggressions. It’s made the road a little rockier and unfortunately disenfranchises others who will now be less inclined to start a business. Thing is that they are needed as much–if not more, thanks to the information age economy. The traditional businesses have proven to not be “too big to fail” and have been shrinking instead of growing.
The economic impact from Microaggressions has been covered, now on to the censorship. The era of Microaggressions have made sure to make everyone dependent on government, while silencing its opponents. Even saying the phrase “Land of Opportunity” is considered hurtful and a Microaggression. And since what’s deemed offensive is subjective, it’s difficult to have an open discussion on any subject. Many people are sensitive to social pressure, and being called out as culturally insensitive or politically incorrect is all it takes for them to concede, it’s an effective plan of attack.
It’s a problem that is rampant in the two-party system, Ann Coulter and Bill O’Reilly are as bad–or worse–than any of their “tolerant” progressive counterparts.
Progressive groups called to have Last Man Standing pulled and the Media Research Center petitioned to have Dan Savage’s sitcom The Real O‘Neal‘s canceled. Both were in the wrong. A petition from progressive groups was sent to MSNBC to have the conservatives formerly from Fox News fired; while they pushed for Net Neutrality, which would force them to hire progressive commentators.
Microaggressions are having a detrimental effect on our nation–both in the area of free speech and economics. It’s not worth trading freedom for security, because whether it’s in a battlefield across the ocean or in a classroom across the road or a political discussion across the room, security is at best fleeting and can be used against us when the individual relinquishes control. Security can be achieved with Freedom, but Freedom is generally suppressed with security.
R.C. Seely is the founder of americanuslibertae.com and ALTV. He has also written books about pop culture the most recent Victims of White Male: How Victim Culture Victimizes Society is available at Amazon.
Another Business Day
Posted: December 9, 2017 in Social CommentaryTags: americanus libertae, another business day, business, commerce, economics, online business, r.c.seely
By R.C. Seely
THE MEDIA HAS REPORTED that “malls across the country are dying off.” The supposed culprit for their demise is the internet and its impact on the business models. I don’t think so. The internet simply demonstrated the vulnerability of big business, they over extended themselves.
At times of excess before the great recession of 2008, the biggest retail organizations in the United States just kept building while ignoring the looming change in business. The internet did what mail order did and gave the customer more options; in areas with few brick and mortar stores, this proved to be a saving grace; in areas with more stores losses were inevitable.
And with both additions to the market, the “big boys” complained about the competition, but ignored the fact they were responsible for the damage by not adapting when they should have. So, they had to perform massive scaling back measures closing many stores and cutting the jobs. That’s the bad news.
The good news is that the internet has made it easier for the little guys to fill the niches. Online commerce has proven to be the leveler of the market that had been distorted by big corporations, all thanks to the minimal regulations and restrictions on the “information superhighway.” The internet is mostly tax-free on products, and fees for advertising and selling are minimal, making it ideal for growth.
The internet was sent up in the 1980s, and started showing the signs of the coming changes in the nineties. By the early 2000s if you didn’t have an email address for your business you were behind the curb, the big companies least affected by the web already designed a solid online infrastructure. Target, Walmart and Home Depot, didn’t lose as many stores as the other large corporations. They welcomed the new manner in doing business and fewer local economies were hurt.
The damage done wasn’t due to the internet but short-sightedness on the part of the large companies who foolishly believed the internet was simply a fad–a similar sentiment about mail order, I’m sure. It’s a fairly effective way to avoid culpability for your failures, and make the other guy look bad for doing so.
Many of us do business almost entirely online thanks to Amazon. All my books couldn’t be possible without the services of Createspace, one of Amazon’s subsidiaries. That doesn’t mean I agree with everything the company does, but they perform services along with selling discounted products that benefit the consumer and that can’t be denied.
Amazon has also given another point of consideration, while many are shutting down their brick and mortar stores, this retail giant recently opened its first one. Clearly, they don’t see this as the end of malls and they have been pretty accurate in their predictions so far.
R.C. Seely is the founder of americanuslibertae.com and ALTV. He has also written books on pop culture the most recent Victims of White Male: How Victim Culture Victimizes Society is available at Amazon.