As I sit here looking out the window of my mountain home, we have 6″ of snow and temperatures just above zero.  It’s crisp and cold, and all the flat-landers have gone back to the valleys for the winter.  I love this season!  As I contemplate nature, I can’t help but marvel at how things work.  It’s the law of the harvest in all its glory.  You reap what you sow.  There are no do-overs, no time extensions, no forgiveness.  You reap what you sow — end of discussion.

If the ants and the squirrels and the rest of the animal kingdom haven’t prepared for the winter, they won’t be here in the spring.  Cruel as it seems, this is actually a huge blessing.  It creates generations of animals — each a little stronger than the one before — who take full and complete responsibility for themselves.  Because the procrastinators, the lazy and the unwilling are weeded out in such a dramatic fashion, natural selection ensures that each generation is stronger than the one before — thus ensuring the survival of the species.

Thousands of years ago it was that way with humans too.  I suppose the same could be said for humans as recently as 100 years ago.  Those who didn’t prepare, perished — weeding out the weak, leaving the strong.  But somewhere along the way, in a misguided attempt to, “give our children more than we had,” we began to shelter them from the consequences of their actions.  We didn’t want them to feel the pain of their bad choices.  We wanted to save them the anguish  and heartache of having chosen poorly.

Over the last several years that desire to insulate people from the consequences of their actions has even begun to pervade the business world.  In the past, if a business made bad decisions, it went under.  Only the strong survived, ensuring a continuation of good business practices, etc.  But now — with this $700B bailout, etc. —  we are raising a generation of business managers who feel entitled to be bailed out after making poor decisions.  Not only are they not fired,  not prosecuted, not publicly humiliated in any way, etc. they are rewarded by receiving money from the government for having made poor decisions — not only that, they get to keep their jobs and nobody says “boo” to them about what happened.  It’s like it’s all forgotten.  No harm, no foul.

And you get to pay for it  –  for the rest of your life.

Why are you not bouncing off the walls?  Why are you not up in arms threatening to impeach anyone who put forth such an unconscionable idea?  Why are you supporting our government in the systematic dismantling of the most successful economic system in the known world — past or present?  WHY!?!?

All you have to do is look around at children whose parents shielded them from the consequences of their actions.  You’ll see children who are lazy, unwilling and / or unable to take any kind of responsibility, and who feel entitled in every way.  Of course “entitled” means that they live off the fruits of someone else’s labors.  That is not a strong future.

The same is true in business.  Capitalism works, but only as long as natural selection flourishes.  THAT’S HOW WE BECAME SO STRONG IN THE FIRST PLACE.  You can’t improve on natural selection.  Yes, it’s brutal.  Yes, it’s sad.  Yes, it’s hard to bear.  But there’s not one thing you can add externally that will improve the system.  It has evolved over thousands of years.  It is, without a doubt, the best way.  The more you try to get involved, the weaker it becomes.

We lived beyond our means for years.  We bought more house, more car, more toys than we could afford.  We immersed ourselves in debt.  Then when it came time to pay the piper for our excesses, we said, “Oh, no.  We can’t let that happen.  We’ve got to intervene.”  Such is the beginning of the end of capitalism and of the greatness of America.  Our economic and political system rose on honesty, integrity, on your word being as good as your bond, on trustworthiness, on a legitimate concern for others and a host of other factors.  We’ll fall on excess, on not taking personal and collective responsibility for our actions, on pride, on greed, on avarice, on dishonesty, etc.

You hear the politicians saying, “We can’t let people lose their homes.  These people are victims of predatory lenders.  We must intervene.”  What predatory lenders?  You bought more house than you could afford.  If you lose the house you can’t afford, you’ll go buy one you can.  Who are these predatory lenders?  Did they hang out around the school yard offering candy if you get into the car with them?

Why can’t we say, “You know, I knew I couldn’t afford that house, but I was hoping to sell it before the mortgage reset and make enough to buy a house I really could afford.”  Why do we have to make this out to be someone else’s fault.  Why can’t Americans stand up and say, “Hey, I screwed up. I’ll pay the cost of my mistakes and I’ll be back.”  That’s what we used to say.  Now we say, “Poor me.  I am the victim.  Why, if it weren’t for the predatory lenders my life would be so good.”

What a crock!!!  I wonder how our grandfathers would feel about this attitude.  My guess is they would have us out behind the woodshed giving us an attitude adjustment.  Because if they understood one thing, it was this:  we’re all responsible for our own actions.  Strong societies are built on a foundation of strong individuals.  Strong individuals have strong character.  They pay their own way.  They don’t rely on the government or those around them to carry them.  They take pride and satisfaction in hard work — not in things.