Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel

Creating the Orwellian Society

I have always enjoyed listening to the Police’s famous rock song, “I’ll be Watchin’ You.” Note the following sequence of lyrics:

Every breath you take, every move you make,

every bond you break, every step you take

I’ll be watchin’ you

Every single day, every word you say,

every game you play, every night you stay

I’ll be watchin’ you

Every move you make, every vow you break,

Every smile you fake, every claim you stake)

I’ll be watchin’ you

Every single day, every word you say . . .

Our country is in pretty bad economic shape and some law-enforcement agencies have resorted to novel ways of raising revenue for the local police stations. Yes, the police have been busy—not busting criminals or gangs, but beating up on little girls for not having a permit to sell lemonade!

God is not the only One who has a watchful eye on the affairs of humankind-our government is trying to emulate its Heavenly Creator.

In Portland, Oregon, Atlanta, George, or any other community you can think of—the police are dedicating their time giving citations to young 7 year old girls for selling lemonade without a license. Children in Bethesda, MD, were slapped with a $500 fine.

Why are our political leaders so eager to make everyone’s life so difficult? The answer is painfully simple: because they can—especially if it means making more money for struggling local economies, but what about common sense? The worst part is that we are denying kids the opportunity to do the kind of things that all children have been doing for generations.

I read a very interesting report today on the Internet: “If the federal government’s regulatory operation were a business, it would be one of the 50 biggest in the country in terms of revenues, and the third largest in terms of employees, with more people working for it than McDonald’s, Ford, Disney and Boeing combined. Under President Obama, while the economy is struggling to grow and create jobs, the federal regulatory business is booming.”

But wait, the news gets even more interesting. Companies that received stimulus money from the government to create jobs in the United States are now moving their businesses to China, a country that is willing to bend some of its rules to welcome American businesses. The net result: 800 Americans are now unemployed from the company that moved its business out of the country. Once again, China continues to benefit from American stupidity. I wonder: Why didn’t anyone stipulate when the stimulus monies were being dolled out insist: “You must keep these jobs ONLY in the United States!” Continue Reading