Of all the different political writers and thinkers I read, one of the ones I admire most is a fellow named Mark Steyn. He writes for National Review, has a syndicated column and is a regular contributor in a wide variety of publications including Maclean's (a big Canadian publication...Mark's a Canuck), the Jerusalem Post and The Australian. He recently published a book titled America Alone: The End of The World as We Know It, and he occasionally hosts the Rush Limbaugh show when Rush is on vacation.Among Mark's specialties is the study of demographics, and he's been pointing out for some time the dangers that come to societies with low birthrates. In particular, Mark points out, many European cultures have put themselves on the road to extinction by having birthrates of 1.3 children per couple. (A rate of 2.1 is considered the minimum needed to maintain a population. The United States has dropped to 2.1 now.)
Mark recently spoke at Hillsdale College, a terrific small college in Michigan that I will write about another day. His speech was titled "Live Free or Die" (he's now a resident of New Hampshire) and it sums up very nicely the problems that arise when we ask government to do everything for us, and how that affects the basic concepts of liberty and personal freedom.
It's a bit long, but I'm confident that once you've read it, you'll agree it was worth your time. It will open by clicking HERE.
For me, the money quote is from the European official who said "I have never learned to fight for my freedom. I was only good at enjoying it."
Enjoy.
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