Oct 28 2009
The Menace of the Public Option By: M.C. Blakeman
Photo: Seattle Public Library
This is about a month old, but this gem puts recent conservative outrage about publicly financed programs that benefit all of us into a comedic perspective.
Article originally published in the San Fransisco Chronicle.
The menace of the public option
Of all the current assaults on our noble republic, perhaps none is more dangerous than the public option - specifically, the public library option.
For far too long, this menace has undermined the very foundations of our economy. While companies like Amazon and Barnes & Noble struggle valiantly each day to sell books, these communistic cabals known as libraries undercut the hard work of good corporate citizens by letting people read their books for free. How is the private sector supposed to compete with free? And just what does this public option give us? People can spend hours and hours in these dens of socialism without having to buy so much as a cappuccino. Furthermore, not only can anyone read books for free in the library, they can take them home, too. They get a simple card that can be used at any library in town. No checking on the previous condition of books they’ve read. No literacy test. Nothing. Yet, do these libertines of literature let you choose any book you want, anytime you want it? No. Have you ever tried to get the latest best-seller at a public library? They put you on a waiting list for that, my friend. And if you do ask these government apparatchiks a question about a book, they start talking your ear off, and pretty soon they’re telling you what to read.
Of course, if you break one of their petty rules and return a book late, you have to pay fines that mount grotesquely each day. Even if you die, your overdue fees keep piling up. Is that not a death tax? How long must the elderly live in fear of burdening their children with these unfair sanctions on their estates?
Don’t be fooled for a minute. Somebody has to pay for these “free” libraries, and I’ll tell you who it is, pal. Those good ol’ suckers, the American taxpayers, that’s who.
Have you ever wondered who’s really behind this public library option? And don’t you think it’s fishy that they mask their nefarious activities with benign-sounding names, like Friends of the Library? What’s their real agenda - and why do they have so many “volunteer” meetings, anyway?
No, my fellow Americans. We cannot wait until we’re all goose-stepped into a massive book checkout line. This assault on capitalism and our very way of life has got to end. Be subversive … burn your library card! Go out and buy a book!
Photo of Seattle Public Library courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/75905404@N00/ / CC BY-NC 2.0
Haha, this is a great piece. There are so many other public services that people take for granted like public schools and fire departments. Sometimes it takes satire like this to put things in perspective.