I recently took the family on an outing to the local lakeside beach. While we were there, I made some shish kabobs and grilled pineapple with a sugar topping for dessert. A wonderful time had by all. My youngest of three sons, Hunter, who is nine years old, turns to me with eyes of excitement and says, “Why don’t we come here tomorrow and sell this stuff to people on the beach and make a lot of money!!!”. Both my wife and I looked at each other with proud smiles on our faces about the little entrepreneur we had in our midst.
I had to explain that it wasn’t that easy and that he would have to pay for a license and permit from the government to do that. Looking puzzled, he slowly looked down at the sand while he enjoyed his food and after a few moments of deep thought he looked up and said, “Dad, why do we need Government anyway?” I smiled once more and congratulated him on his question because wiser men than I have been asking this very question since the dawn of time. I tried to explain to him that different people answer that same question very differently. I tried to use sports as an analogy. Some people think government should be a Referee and make sure everyone plays by the rules but at the same time not interfere with the game. Some people, however, think that government should be the “Captain” of the team, making sure everyone is doing what they are suppose to do, while at the same time being very involved in how the game is played. He nodded and smiled with eyes squinting while looking at the water.
Hunter then turned to meet my eyes with his and asked “Isn’t this a free Country?” Yes, it is, I replied. He disagreed, “No it’s not Dad, not really.” Why do you say that? “Well because… you have to wear your seatbelt or you’ll get in trouble with the Policeman if he sees you, right?” he said with a grin. Yes, that’s true, but it’s suppose to be for your own good, I said. Hunter quickly shot back, “If your free, shouldn’t you be able to decide what is good or bad for yourself.” I laughed pretty hard, thinking; we’ve got a little Libertarian here.
”Dad, Why do people need permits to sell food here?” he asks. Well because the government is acting like the “Captain” on the team, making sure that you follow rules so you don’t get people sick. “Does Mommy have a license?, he asked. No, she doesn’t need one. “How come? Sometimes I get sick from her food”, laughing while he looks over at his insulted mom. Well, because she is family and only strangers that sell you food need a license. “What if someone with a license makes you sick?” He quickly asks. Then those people get in trouble. “Dad?” he says. “You know all those people that are out of work right now and need a job.” Yes, I replied. “The government should get rid of all these stupid rules so people can make money on the beach selling food and the only people that should get in trouble are the ones that make you sick, not that anyone is going to buy from them again anyway”. “I think that the government should be a Referee because Government doesn’t play very fair”. I couldn’t agree more buddy, I couldn’t agree more.
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