A Fathers Promise

A few weeks ago I had to cash a check, and of course it was a Sunday so the only place open very early in the morning was a local check cashing place. When I walked in a young man was standing in front of me with his young daughter in a small basket of sorts with a large handle. He could not be more than 22 or 23 years of age, and as I stood watching his transaction his conversation filled the whole room, which consisted of myself, the teller he and his daughter. It was not a loud or over bearing presence, nor was it a commanding presence. The young man stood confident, proud, assured. That was what made me stand and pay close attention. In this confidence was a weariness, which looking at the toddler sitting next to his feet was my guess the cause of the fatigue.

                                                                            The teller walked away from the counter for a moment and he turned to look at me.....I asked ......did she keep you up all night ? He smiled, and looked down with pride, no....she has slept soundly the last few nights, so it hasn't been that bad. Ya know he says to me as if we were long time friends, it's bad enough I have to pay these crazy fee's to cash a check, but then the TAXES taken out is enough to drive you crazy. Now clearly here was an opening of a conversation I could sink my teeth into, but I just wanted my money, and get the heck out of this place. there were people waiting on me to get this taken care of so we could take care of our business. So in an unusual fashion I simply say these taxes pay for services, and people depend on those services...........had he really known me it would have registered that this was pure sarcasm, however since he did not know me, it comes across as accepting the situation with some form of gratitude. The teller by now is approaching the window, but the answer I gave actually lit a fire........services ? what freakin services ? you mean like subsidizing farms ? or paying for a Congressman's hair cut ? or hey how about research into the mating habits of pond scum ?

                                                              So with a smile and a small chuckle I nod and say ..........look in all honesty you are preaching to the choir, in fact I am willing to bet that I would be more libertine in my opinions than you are.......I have been following this stuff for quite a long time, for example we are both here cashing a check but it is not real money. With that a toothy smile and a nod and this young man says you know you should read Ron Paul and his thoughts on this. I smiled ......and asked I have actually met Dr. Paul, are you aware of the foundations for his thoughts on money ? No I do not he replied, what are the foundations ? Mises I tell him Ludvig Von Mises, Dr. Paul is a big proponent of Austrian Economics. Wow ! he says......... that's really cool stuff, hey can I get your email address or something ? I would like to talk about this stuff some more if you don't mind. So I hand him a business card and tell him its alright and to call or email any time. I would be glad to go over this information any time.
                                                                    So he conducts the rest of his business with the teller gets his money, thanks her and apologizes for taking up too much of her time, and then he turns half way as if to speak to both of us and he says When my daughter was born, a apologized for bring her into such a screwed up world............and then I made her a promise....... that I would do everything in my power to make it a better one so she would not have to suffer.............

                                                                     That conversation has stuck with me for a few weeks now, not just for the devotion of a father to his child, which is quite admirable in and of itself; and not for the desire of a father to create a better place for his child which most parents want for there offspring, what really got to my heart was a father dedicating LIBERTY to an infant and proclaiming a lifetime of service for her chance to have it, and to know that there is still that dedication to the concept in the birthplace of liberty in a generation that will be here long after my life is gone. To see that and to experience a moment like that in person let's a person know that the IDEA of liberty is well worth fighting for and passing on. I hope there are more fathers like that out there somewhere.