Friday, March 25, 2005

Can You Throw a Curveball?

Throwing a curveball is easy, just do as it says here. Well, try doing it until you really know how to do it, that is, until your brain and muscles work together in just the right way. Which may never happen, or happen very often, no matter how many articles you read or how much you practice.

The moral of the story is simple: Don't presume to know how things work until you've actually done them yourself.

That's why I don't trust a politician who hasn't put his own money at risk in a business on which his livelihood depends. Such a politician has no real idea of the debilitating effects of taxation and regulation on the entrepreneurial spirit, job creation, and employee compensation.

That's why I don't trust a politician who thinks that fallible human beings can magically solve problems when they become government employees.

That's why I don't trust a politician to do the right thing when it comes to dealing with a tragedy like the Schiavo case if that politician hasn't faced the death of a loved one whose life might yet be saved.

Full disclosure:
  • In my days of playing catch, which I did seriously for many years, I seldom broke off a good curveball even though I could throw fast, far, and with good control.
  • I have owned and operated a business into which I poured a substantial portion of my savings and which was the sole source of income for my family and me.
  • I worked in and closely with the federal government for 32 years.
  • I have a child whose life was in mortal danger but was saved by a timely operation, from which he has long since recovered fully.