Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffee pot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some latte-sipping, tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards.With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because self-absorbed “socialists” fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised. All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer’s medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance – now Joe gets it too.

He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe’s bacon is safe to eat because some safe-place girly-man fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because environmentalist wackos fought for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air.

Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal collective bargaining leader fought and died for these working standards. Joe’s employer upholds these standards because Joe’s employer doesn’t want his employees to call the union.

It is noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe’s deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless progressive wanted to protect Joe’s money from unscrupulous bankers who crashed the banking system before the Great Depression and 2008. Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some snowflake do-gooders decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime.

Joe also forgets that in addition to his federally-subsidized student loans, he attended a state funded university.Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm in the country. That old home place didn’t have electricity until some big government liberal stuck his nose where it didn’t belong and demanded rural electrification.

Joe drives to his dad’s house on good roads that are paved due to
county taxes. His car is equipped with seat belts, air bags, anti-lock brakes, shatter-proof glass and a host of other life saving equipment that wouldn’t be there if some pushy America hating progressives hadn’t made it a legislative priority.

He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a pension because some wine-sniffing, cheese-nibbling elitist made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn’t have to. Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns
on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn’t mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day.

Joe agrees: “We don’t need those big government fat cats ruining our lives! After all, I’m a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have.”

Nothing is free. But when we cooperate through local, state, and federal governments, we make life better for everyone.