The riots in Hong Kong offer hope for America’s future. Hong Kong proves you can’t impose totalitarianism on people accustomed to freedom. We can hope the same for America.
Granted, millions of Americans are ignorant and stupid when it comes to liberty. They think they can retain their liberty by giving government more and more and more power, including over the economy.
“Free health care? Sure! Hand over guns? Why not? Who needs guns? Let Elizabeth Warren or Joe Biden command and control the entire banking industry? You bet!” Yet the moment government takes over something, you lose more of your freedom. It always spills over to the consumer — just ask Venezuelans, for the consistent case.
While Democrat-types LOVE the idea of more government, you can rest assured they want to retain the freedom to do whatever THEY feel like doing. Nobody howls louder than a leftist Democrat when he or she doesn’t get his or her way. In a strange way, that’s hopeful.
The people of Hong Kong were collectively handed over to the Chinese Communist government. Ironically, the deal was made with Margaret Thatcher of Great Britain, in the 1980s, one of the biggest proponents of liberty to hold high office in the 20th Century. They didn’t necessarily ask for dictatorship, nor submit to it out of ignorance and torpidity, like left-leaning Americans are doing today. But the end result will always be the same: People used to freedom will recoil, resist and ultimately rebel when they lose their freedoms. When they turn, they turn.
The NBA, Google and other American corporations — who loathe the economic freedom which the rise of their companies depended on — now cow-tow to the Chinese government in a disgusting fashion that’s truly mind-boggling. They think they can operate without principle and not have it come back to bite them. But TRUE principles are practical. You cannot practically exist without true principles.
An example of a true principle is freedom of speech. Freedom of speech isn’t just ideal; it’s rational and practical. If you’re not allowed to criticize the Chinese government, then you’re subject to all their errors, stupidity and injustice. The masters of the universe at Google and Harvard should be smart enough to grasp this. Anyone who puts himself in a position of not being questioned is foolish. “Well, I have a sound point, but it offends the Chinese government, so we can’t do it to make things better”. You cannot learn and grow when you’re above being questioned. And you cannot learn and grow when you’re under the thumb of dictators, either.
Similarly, companies cannot be expected to flourish and survive without economic liberty. This means: capitalism. And China does not have capitalism. Capitalism means everything is privately owned and the owners are 100 percent accountable for their errors or market losses. The Chinese have government control over business. It’s not capitalism.
Liberty — whether in business or personal life — is the air we breathe. We cannot function or grow intellectually, socially or economically without liberty. We need a government to restrain people who initiate violence and fraud. Anarchy will not work. We have to contain and punish rapists, terrorists and thieves. But beyond that, people must be free to learn from their mistakes, grow, think and evolve … even if (gasp) Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders or the government of China do not always approve.
Authoritarianism has been the dominant trend of human history. Not just in China, but everywhere. That’s the bad news. The good news? Even a tiny bit of freedom in a tiny place like Hong Kong can inspire the world for generations to come. China thought it could impose its suffocating cloak of totalitarianism on Hong Kong without a fight. China was wrong. They have got a real mess on their hands.
Let’s hope the totalitarians in America’s leftist-corporate-government Establishment learn the same lesson. No, they will never learn. Let’s hope they at least face some accountability.
It’s up to us — the lovers of individual rights, freedom and real capitalism — to show them that we’re made of the same stuff as these brave, liberty-loving people in Hong Kong.
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