We all want to change the world. But when you talk about destruction

Don’t you know that you can count me out

These are some of the lyrics sung by John Lennon in the Beatles 1968 song “Revolution.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2bjo_DXjDg

Never Let Hate Guide You

The song, written by the same person who wrote “Give Peace a Chance,” was in response to the dangerous threat that Vietnam anti-war protesters posed. What was the threat? A destabilization of society caused by angry young demonstrators who wanted to topple the establishment without regard to the aftereffects. In sum, it is a cautionary tale about letting hate fuel destruction under the guise of revolution.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution_(Beatles_song)

Y ou say you got a real solution

Well, you know, we’d all love to see the plan

Of course we all want a better world. We all want to see people achieve lives that are devoid of violent struggles, of undue hardships, of unjust suffering. Most of us also want to achieve higher levels of success, to lead extraordinary lives, to leave a legacy, to have mattered. Thankfully, a majority of us are able to live in a safe environment, with adequate access to quality food and clean water, and many of us achieve comfortable wealth in a myriad of ways — from athletic prowess, to academic achievement, to technological innovation, to investment, to entertainment, to public service — that are available in this land of opportunity. This is not the case in many places around the globe. We are the fortunate ones, and yes, our government has a lot to do with that.

Moreover, in the Unites States, where corruption or the misuse of public power for private benefit is relatively low and public safety is relatively high, there is no need to impugn government officials and brand them crooks and liars.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index

You ask me for a contribution

Well, you know, we’re all doing what we can But if you want money for people with minds that hate

All I can tell you is, brother, you have to wait

So if supporters of a revolutionary see a public servant like Hillary Clinton — who has for decades championed and fought to use the power of the government to help children be better prepared for school, to help fund science and technology research, to help people attain health care — as a crook and a liar, a serious question must be asked:

Is your antagonism toward Secretary Clinton hate? And if it is hate, perhaps it is time to stand down because a revolution by those whose minds are filled with hate is purely destructive and dangerous.

https://www.hillaryclinton.com/feed/seven-hillary-clintons-biggest-accomplishments/

Again, we all want a better world. That is not the question. But it is especially unfair to close your eyes to the fact that Hillary Clinton has made it her life’s work to make the lives of people who are struggling better. More than most people, she has suffered to make a positive difference in the world through her work in support of human rights. The real question is not about purity of soul, or about being saintly, or about authenticity. It is about how to go about making positive changes within our government and society.

It is about “the plan” that John Lennon sang about. A revolution without a realistic detailed plan about what comes after the establishment is toppled is just destruction.

You say you’ll change the constitution

Well, you know, we all wanna change your head You tell me it’s the institution

Well, you know, you better free your mind instead

Let’s be real. It is easy to criticize, to find fault in the work of others, to chip away and diminish their achievements. It is much harder to create something, to fight entropy, to keep a system running. Of course there is some corruption in government, of course there is waste, but by and large we have a government system that is well structured, with beautifully implemented checks and balances that has achieved fantastical things like landing on the moon and inventing the Internet, as well as needed things like building roads and bridges while preserving public parks and maintaining healthy air and water quality.

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/yes-government-researchers-really-did-invent-the-internet/

But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao

You ain’t gonna make it with anyone, anyhow

So what are you carrying on about? Nothing and no one is perfect. If you are carrying pictures of a revolutionary leader around like he is some sort of saint and asking others to hate, heed Lennon’s words: free your mind instead.

Wealth is not inherently good or bad; it is a tool that you can use to build or to destroy. People who earn tremendous amounts of money under a free market system are not inherently bad people, nor did they necessarily acquire their wealth by malfeasance, exploitation, or theft. Yes, some people have gained wealth unjustly, but the history of economic growth points to innovation and competition as the main engines of wealth development.

https://mises.org/library/entrepreneurship-and-economic-growth

Hence, there is no moral limit to the amount of money a person can earn. It is utterly un-American to accept that someone, especially a government official, has the right to put a cap on how much money a person can make before they are branded impure and their wealth is taken from them out of a misguided sense of justice. Extremely wealthy people are not the enemy, and their success does not mean that they hurt others. In fact, more often than not, extremely wealthy people earned their wealth through entrepreneurship, which means that they created jobs and elevated other people economically. And a good number of these people become philanthropists.

All of this is to say that although Hillary Clinton earned tremendous amounts of money by giving speeches, this does not mean that she is corrupt. Defining goodness or badness by the amount of money in someone’s bank account is a dangerous, frightening and utterly destructive belief. It has no place in a modern society built via a capitalist system.

And why do these large industries have her ear, why do they want to know what she thinks, and why do they want to tell her what is in their best interest? Seriously? Because they are part of the backbone of the country, because they make wealth, yes for themselves, but also for thousands of others. If it were not for the businesses that are created in the U.S. we would just be a banana republic, with a few crops to sell and a subsistence lifestyle stuck without government run utility services like sewage, water and electricity because there would be no money to give the government to build infrastructure.

The truth is that it is our great fortune live in a country where government and business cooperate and where people like Hillary Clinton have the vision and the plans to harness those relationships into creating projects that help the less fortunate.

https://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/

Lennon had it right. It’s going to be alright. Vote for Hillary, see what kind of results come from someone who is a serious student of history, of policy, and who has the commitment to use the power of the government to bring needed help to others. Let go of the hate.