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Do you need to be rich to fly? Unfortunately,
by most measures, yes.
By world standards, just having a warm place to sleep,
clean water, food and electricity qualifies for being rich, and car
ownership is a luxury. By that standard, having a paramotor makes you
filthy rich! But most of us who engage in the world's cheapest form of flight
hardly consider ourselves "rich." I've heard the paramotor
appropriately called a poor-mans airplane—but "poor"
is obviously relative. I've even heard paramotor pilots scoff at the spendy
set who tool around in million dollar airplanes, calling them
wasteful. What a shame. We should consider the diversity offered by
those at the highest income levels as part of what makes life more
interesting.
Some societies bristle at its wealthiest members who enjoy so much
resource and endeavor to "level the playing field"
through government action, spreading the wealth, and trying to be
"fair." Communism is but the extreme
implementation of that idea. To be fair, that is appropriate in limited
fashion, but is disastrous when doled out in excess.
You could say that paramotors are an indulgence whose
expense would be better off shared with our less fortunate brethren.
After all, paramotors suck up lots of resources for simple pleasure—is that
fair?
I proffer that the wealthy add enormously to society's variety and
individual opportunity. Although there are exceptions, don't give the poor
a handout, give them opportunities. A good example, indulged only by the wealthiest
among us, is the mega yacht.
The Yacht
Only the über rich may own these behemoths, but how many
middle-incomers ply their trade in producing them? How many are employed
in their service? Storage? Operation? And not just employed, but
pursuing passions in a job they want.
Not all the jobs, of course,
are craftsmen and chefs and captains, but many are. Such workers
frequently are intrigued by boats, the water, working on motors, and so on. That one purchase allows many "non-extremely-rich"
to have careers, not just jobs. From craftsmanship to mechanics to seafarers.
Like any other economic activity, it also gives employment to unskilled
laborers who may otherwise be difficult to place.
Another example at a much lower level is the paramotor. Only the
relatively rich can own and fly one. While our sport doesn't employ a
large number of people, it certainly employs some. And it is but one of
many, many small endeavors of individuality that offer expression of
humankind's variety; an important element of what makes life so worth
living. It is the essence of freedom.
When governments so severely restrict an activity that they threaten
its continuance, it is a travesty of destruction. Destruction of personal
freedom as well as a small part of the economy. Like the rich, it's easy
to think that such small numbers are insignificant, but the insidious loss
of variety will eventually be felt by many more than just those restricted
individuals.
It has come to light that the government in Japan has started down that
road to restriction and what a shame it is. We can only hope to influence
those in our own back yard and confirm the value of individual freedom and
of variety. To confirm that our freedom and individuality is so worth
preserving.
Lets be thankful for our freedom and work hard not to take it for
granted. Lets work equally hard to preserve it. |
