Perhaps as a child you once sang a fun little ditty about a hapless man, named Henry and his beloved, named Liza. See, this song is about a problem Henry has. His bucket has a hole in it so it is pretty much useless. But instead of handling the problem himself, he runs to ask Liza what he should do.
Perhaps as a child you once sang a fun little ditty about a hapless man, named Henry, and his beloved, named Liza. See, this song is about a problem Henry has. His bucket has a hole in it so it is pretty much useless. But instead of handling the problem himself, he runs to ask Liza what he should do.
Henry is like the typical person in America that thinks they are far too incompetent to know how handle their own problems and runs to the government for help. Of course, in the beginning, the answer is obvious and Liza is more than happy to help with “common sense”.
Henry, holding up his leaky bucket says to Liza, “There’s a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza. There’s a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, a hole.”
Liza responds back with the obvious, “So fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry. So fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, fix it.”
Now, did Henry really need to run to Liza to get this wisdom imparted to him? No, but he did it anyway. This is the way dependency on government always begins. And of course, having gotten help once, he immediately goes back for more. Hey, free help is always appreciated.
So instead of just fixing the bucket he gets more inquisitive. “With what should I fix it, dear Liza, dear Liza? With what should I fix it, dear Liza, with what?”
Liza responds, “With straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry. With straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, with straw.” That response is a mistake Liza will soon regret. Because now Henry knows he has her on the hook. Why should he figure out the solution himself when he has someone so ready to “help” him.
“But the straw is too long, dear Liza, dear Liza. The straw is too long, dear Liza, too long.”
“So cut it dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,” Liza answers. “So cut it dear Henry, dear Henry, cut it!”
“With what should I cut it, dear Liza, dear Liza? With what should I cut it, dear Liza, with what?” Henry continues.
“Use the hatchet, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry. Use the hatchet, dear Henry, the hatchet!”
Now Henry begins to whine, “But the hatchet’s too dull, dear Liza, dear Liza. The hatchet’s too dull, dear Liza, too dull.”
“So, sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry. So sharpen it dear Henry, dear Henry, sharpen it!”
Wow! This is so easy, thinks Henry! And such progress is being made! “I don’t have to think for myself!” he says to himself and then asks of Liza, “With what should I sharpen it, dear Liza, dear Liza? With what should I sharpen, dear Liza, with what?”
“Use the stone, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry. Use the stone, dear Henry, dear Henry, the stone.”
So Henry comes back with another inquiry, “But the stone is too dry, dear Liza, dear Liza. The stone is too dry, dear Liza, too dry.”
“So wet it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry. So wet it dear Henry, dear Henry, wet it.”
Now we’re cooking Henry thinks to himself and continues, “With what should I wet it, dear Liza, dear Liza. With what should I wet it, dear Liza, with what?”
By now Liza certainly has to be wondering if she married a complete idiot. “With water, dear Henry, dear Henry. With water, dear Henry, with water.”
“With what should I carry it, dear Liza, dear Liza? With what should I carry it dear Liza, with what?”
You can almost envision Liza shaking her head at this point as she replies, “With the bucket dear Henry, dear Henry. With the bucket dear Henry, the bucket!”
So Henry looks at his bucket and reminds Liza, “There’s a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza. There’s a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, a hole!”
Yes, despite all the “free help” Henry was getting from Liza he wound up right back where he started. He still has a bucket with a hole in it incapable of holding the water he wants to fetch. Liza, was completely incapable of solving his problem despite the appearance that, for a while anyway, progress was actually being made towards solving the problem.
There is a lesson here for people that turn to the government for help year after year yet never actually better their lot in life. In the long run they are left holding the same old useless bucket - just like Henry.
J.J. Jackson is a libertarian conservative author from Pittsburgh, PA who has been writing and promoting individual liberty since 1993 and is President of Land of the Free Studios, Inc. He is the Pittsburgh Conservative Examiner for Examiner.com. He is also the owner of The Right Things - Conservative T-shirts & Gifts http://www.cafepress.com/rightthings. His weekly commentary along with exclusives not available anywhere else can be found at http://www.libertyreborn.com
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