My story, as I see it
Ryan August 20, 2012MoralPaperRoute.com is not just about the morality of the free market; it’s also about how that morality is real, human and when a free market doesn’t exist, we see the opposite of moral transactions.
My parents grew up in another country entirely where things were completely different. Morality was put aside and it was replaced by thugs, who were often government employees. Day to day life relied on who you knew, and who you could afford to pay off. My parents came here for the opportunities that free markets afford.
When I got my first job on a simple paper route, I began to realize how amazing markets were. For me, it was amazing that people were giving me money not because they had to, but because they wanted to so long as I delivered. They enjoyed seeing me deliver their paper and if I treated them with respect and kindness, they’d sometimes tip me.
They had a choice, a voluntary one from which we both gained. They got their paper, and I received my paycheck. It wasn’t a game, with a winner and loser; we were both winners. While It may seem simple, perhaps there’s beauty in that? At the most basic level, that transaction was a choice made voluntarily in which we both benefited. That is moral and beautiful.
My only problem, and the reason for this blog and news site, is that here in America we’re starting to forget about the moral paper route.
However, for some reason, the government didn’t think it was. They shut us down. Men took the sewing machines and equipment my money helped in part pay for. How can that be right? It’s certainly not moral – I didn’t have a choice, nor did my parents, on whether or not we wanted our equipment confiscated. We broke rules that most never figure out, rules not meant for people to easily understand but instead to privilege a select few, or manage the types of choices people can make for their own lives.
When I sold my violin, saved my paycheck for three months, and gave it to my mother and father so they could start their business, I realized I was doing the right thing and joining people all over the US and the world in taking risks to create something new. It was only through the hard work of our family that we succeeded, we best served the desires of our customers, and they in returned exchanged with us.
We obtained the American dream through markets, and that’s the point. Free markets are amazing and that’s why my family is in America. However, we’re losing a lot of the focus, for a lot of reasons, but the biggest on of all is we forgot what is moral about markets, that they are peaceful paths to better ends..
Americans need to recognize the morality of free markets and defend them.
I feel like my story represents the morality of the market at a very basic, emotional level. That’s why I want to share it. So others can relate to us on that basic, human level and appreciate the market for what it is, Moral.
What a great video, it makes me so proud to be an American. God bless you and your family.
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In these troubled times your message is clear and compelling. Permit people the freedom to choose how they work and spend their money, or roll out the red carpet for Thugocracy in which government bureaucrats pick winners, losers, and pockets.
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