Red Corvette

by BRIAN LOCKHART

There is a TV show called Border Security that follows customs and border agents as they clear visitors at airports, land crossings, and shipping areas, who are trying to enter a country.

They also have segments on inspecting incoming packages for contraband.

The show features customs agents in Canada, the U.S., Australia, and in some versions, the U.K.

It is interesting to see how they look for suspicious people based on a variety of observations.

Usually, there is some kind of clue that leads the agents to pull a person aside for a secondary inspection.

For example, someone returning from a known drug smuggling location who is extremely nervous and sweating bullets is a good indicator something's up.

Sometimes, it's just a matter of a drug sniffing dog taking a seat beside a suitcase that alerts authorities that something may be amiss.

Quite often during questioning, people give conflicting answers, and that's an almost sure sign they are lying about why they want to enter the country.

Sometimes, the agents are wrong, and the hippy-looking guy, who claims he is going to visit his grandmother, is just a hippy-looking guy going to visit his grandmother.

In that case, they wish him a happy visit and he is on his way.

On a recent episode, a man described as an “Irish Traveller,” was stopped at customs and questioned.

Travellers, don't have the best of reputations in the U.K. They are nomadic, setting up camps on private properties. Their children, in large part, don't attend school. They are well known for leaving places in worse shape after they pack up and move to their next location. They tend to live by receiving cheques from the state.

The man being questioned was in his late 30s, early 40s. He claimed to be coming to Canada to visit his brother.

He had less than $300 with him – not nearly enough to finance an 18-day trip. He didn't have a credit card.

When asked how much money he had in his bank account, he answered, “zero.” The last time he held an actual job, was three years earlier.

The agent was dubious about this man's intentions, and thought he might be coming here to work.

However, they placed a call to his brother, who told them that the Traveller would be staying with him at no charge, meals provided, and the Canadian resident would be fully responsible for all expenses incurred.

When asked if he had a return ticket, the man did produce one. He explained he had to be back in Ireland within the allotted time to collect his welfare cheque. If he stayed out of the country for more than 18 days, his welfare would be cancelled.

Through the interview, it was obvious the customs guy just wanted to say, “Why don't you just get a job?”

How can a grown man, drift through life, unemployed, with no ambition, no goals, and no money, when the world is full of opportunities?

A post about this very thing came through my news feed the other day. Whether this story is true or not, doesn't really matter, it's the message and content that matters.

A man had worked his entire life, and finally was able to buy his dream car – a Chevrolet Corvette. Someone, who apparently doesn't like sports cars, approached him and said that the money used to buy that car could have fed thousands of less fortunate people.

The Corvette owner replied that the car did feed thousands of people. It fed the families of the people who worked in the assembly plant. It fed the people who made the tires, and the people who worked in the factories making the car's components.

It fed the people in the mines who mine the metals needed for construction and wiring.

The car was responsible for putting food on the tables of the truck drivers who brought the cars to the dealerships, and paid for the salaries of those working in the dealership that sold him the car.

That's the difference between a capitalist society and a welfare mentality.

Capitalism involves freely giving your money in exchange for a service or product.

The welfare mentality takes your money by force, and gives it to someone else for doing nothing.

There is of course a good side to light socialist policies. A working healthcare system, retirement benefits, and helping those who are truly in need, will benefit society.

However, supporting those who are just lazy, not only robs society of funds, it reduces the recipient to a life with no self-esteem, no ambition, and no hope.