I took a napkin and wrote, “I give this man my home, without the burden of financial obligation, so long as he accepts and abides by the terms that I shall set forth upon consummation of this transaction.”
I signed it and handed it to the young man who eagerly scratched out his signature.

“Where are the keys to my new house?” he asked in a mocking tone of voice.

All eyes were upon us as I stepped back from the table, pulling the keys from pocket and dangling them before the excited new homeowner.

“Now that we have entered into this binding contract, witnessed by all of your friends, I have decided upon the conditions you are obligated to adhere to from this point forward. You may only live in the house for one hour a day. You will not use anything inside of the home. You will obey me without question or resistance. I expect complete loyalty and admiration for this gift I bestow upon you. You will accept my commands and wishes with enthusiasm, no matter the nature. Your morals and principles shall be as mine. You will vote as I do, think as I do and do it with blind faith. These are my terms. Here are your keys.”

I reached the keys forward and the young man looked at me dumbfounded.
“Are you out of your mind? Who would ever agree to those ridiculous terms?” the young man appeared irritated.

“You did when you signed this contract before reading it, understanding it and with the full knowledge that I would provide my conditions only after you committed to the agreement.”

The silly punchline is a groaner. It is true that signing a contract before reading the Terms and Conditions is a bad idea, but equating this ludicrous fictional deal with Obamacare is a false equivalency. The Affordable Care Act isn't anywhere near as intrusive as this fictional agreement. Obamacare doesn't ration care; it is specifically prohibited from doing so. No where is it required for us to give up our individual moral code to accept Obamacare. If your religion forbids you from using birth control, then you don't have to use it. Obamacare does forbid you from requiring your employees to adhere to your religious beliefs (which ironically is more similar to the old man's unreasonable conditions to his "binding contract"). You don't have to swear blind obedience in all things to receive Obamacare. And, it's illegal to require someone to consign their vote to you in exchange for material goods or money. The only accurate portrayal is that parts of Obamacare rules haven't been written yet, but that doesn't mean the unwritten rules won't have to conform to the parameters detailed in the ACA law.

The absurd fictional agreement begins and ends with patronizing arrogance. I'm sure the author thinks they were clever, but it codified to me how many Republicans view the Affordable Care Act as an onerous overreach of government - facts not withstanding. This isn't a new idea. It never ceases to amaze me how far people will go to pervert the intentions of the Affordable Care Act until the hapless conservative quivers in irrational fear and loathing. There seems to be no way to reassure the conservative that this bill will actually help a lot of people while requiring people who've had a free ride for a while finally pay their fair share.

Ok, so the old man got the drop on the kid, but oh, no; the story goes on:

The elderly man chuckled as his wife tried to restrain him. I was looking at a now silenced and bewildered group of people.

“You can shove that stupid deal up your *** old man. I want no part of it!” exclaimed the now infuriated young man.

'You have committed to the contract, as witnessed by all of your friends. You cannot get out of the deal unless I agree to it. I do not intend to let you free now that I have you ensnared. I am the power you agreed to. I am the one you blindly and without thought chose to enslave yourself to. In short, I am your Master.”

At this, the table of celebrating individuals became a unified group against the unfairness of the deal.

After a few moments of unrepeatable comments and slurs, I revealed my true intent.

“What I did to you is what this administration and congress did to you with the health care legislation. I easily suckered you in and then revealed the real cost of the bargain. Your folly was in the belief that you can have something you did not earn, and for that which you did not earn, you willingly allowed someone else to think for you. Your failure to research, study and inform yourself permitted reason to escape you. You have entered into a trap from which you cannot flee. Your only chance of freedom is if your new Master gives it to you. A freedom that is given can also be taken away. Therefore, it is not freedom at all.”

With that, I tore up the napkin and placed it before the astonished young man. “This is the nature of your new health care legislation.”
I turned away to leave these few in thought and contemplation -- and was surprised by applause.

The elderly gentleman, who was clearly entertained, shook my hand enthusiastically and said, “Thank you, Sir. These kids don’t understand Liberty .”

He refused to allow me to pay my bill as he said, “You earned this one. It is an honor to pick up the tab.”

I shook his hand in thanks, leaving the restaurant somewhat humbled and sensing a glimmer of hope for my beloved country.
1. Remember... Four boxes keep us free: the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.
2. THIS SHOULD GO AROUND THE UNITED STATES SO PEOPLE CAN SEE JUST WHAT IS GOING ON. MAYBE EVEN THE POLITICALLY BLIND ONES WILL LEARN SOMETHING FROM IT.

"Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous
by letting the American Government
take care of him;
better take a closer look at the American Indian."
Henry Ford

The most galling part of the entire story is the arrogant preachy end. As parables go, this one sucks. It doesn't promote the idea of a teachable moment. It conveys a series of ugly moments of rudeness, trickery, greed and deceit followed with a chaser of Schadenfreude and arrogance. As if that wasn't enough negativity it finishes off with a saccharine warning that the Men in Black are coming for us all and will force us all to do their bidding. Our final defense is for us to cling to our cartridge box? What utter nonsense. The author can't resist a parting shot and cherry picks a Henry Ford quote warning us on how the American Government has treated Native Americans and has amnesia about a Ford quote that said: "There is one rule for the industrialist and that is: Make the best quality of goods possible at the lowest cost possible, paying the highest wages possible."

No one will change their mind after reading this story. All it is meant to do is offend progressives and fire up conservatives. It doesn't teach anybody anything. It's irritating, not illuminating.

I keep getting these types of messages that cry out to me to "wake up" and look and see what's going on in my country and some how they assume that I see what they see. I don't get this bullcrap. I don't want to get this bullcrap. I see things just fine. I don't understand how or why they believe this bullcrap. What they don't want to hear is that I'm quite awake and see things just fine; but I don't agree with their assessments of what the problems are nor what the solutions should be.  

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/04/13/1201511/-Willfully-Misguided-Misinformed