Gore: Freedom triumphs over stupid notions of eugenics – Danville Commercial News

Recent articles in the Commercial-News provided me with some education.

One article reminded me of history I had forgotten: that about 1849, following the Mexican/American War, large portions of the Southwest became U.S. property. Later, I wonder if this information had a connection to eugenics, defined in an editorial by George Will, Eugenics was a progressive cause.

Mr. Will defined eugenics as controlled breeding to improve the heritable traits of human beings; a really disgusting idea, but one that was discussed frequently from 1875 to 1925 and again in the 1994 book, The Bell Curve by Charles Murray. Will reported that Murray was not permitted to speak at Middlebury College because liberal students there failed to recognize that eugenics was originally an idea of progressives, not conservatives. Who knew?

Some of Wills quotes from those supporting eugenics are so outlandish, I will not mention them, but one involved former liberal President, Woodrow Wilson. Wilson, according to Will, had contrasted the sturdy stocks of the north of Europe (Germany, Norway, etc) with those of southern Europe (Spain, Italy) who had, neither skill nor energy nor any initiative of quick intelligence.

President Wilson must have known little about the damage that governments can inflict upon their citizens and/or had little belief in the benefits that individual freedom and a free market can deliver. He must have also forgotten that both Spain and Italy, at one time in their histories, were great and conquering world powers.

Spaniards, Italians, Mexicans, Germans and Americans, black, white and Hispanic, are not stupid people who need, somehow, to be improved; all of us are simply people, human beings, each born with the potential of genius. It is the impact of how people are educated, treated and given freedom to pursue happiness that impacts the skill, energy and initiative of quick intelligence, referred to by Wilson, not their so called inherent traits. Many examples prove this.

Most dramatically was the split that occurred in Germany after WWII. In the blink of an eye, West Germany became a smart, sturdy stock, and had a booming economy, while East Germany eventually collapsed under its own weight, economic development hindered by loss of freedom under Russian rule. Had East Germans suddenly lost their skill, energy and intelligence?

Before 1990, Spanish laws had been imposed to reduce unemployment, limiting workers to 11 total months of work annually. As a result, Spanish businesses needed many extra employees to provide coverage for unexpected overtime and vacations. These rules produced no noticeable benefit. Unemployment in Spain was about 18 percent in 1990 and is still 18 percent, highest in Europe. Why? Unneeded employees means higher prices for goods, less international trade and less capital and incentive for improvements; a result of governmental limitations, not lack of energy among the workers.

I wonder If the American Southwest had not been obtained from Mexico, Would Houston, Phoenix, and Los Angeles be the great metropolises of today or would they be average Mexican cities with many citizens desiring to live in the United States? What is it about that imaginary line that divides Americas wealth from Mexico if not Mexican law? In rural Mexico I observed an economy that seemed to progress into the 1950s, then stopped (1950s dcor, autos, farming, and construction). Yet, a meat casing plant in rural Mexico, similar to Teepak/Viscofan, is operated just as competently by Mexican workers as American workers operate Teepak/Viscofan in Danville.

Yes, America is blessed by many natural resources, but no more than Russia, a country with only one-seventh as large of an economy. Yet another example showing that freedom triumphs over stupid notions of eugenics.

Ron Gore is a Covington resident and former Commercial-News newsboy and scholarship recipient. He can be reached at rgore1942@spamarrest.com. (emails will require a conformation sending if returned to sender).

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Gore: Freedom triumphs over stupid notions of eugenics - Danville Commercial News