Free Breakfast Offer

Recently in our town Chick fil-A offered a free breakfast to anyone who visited from 6:30 to 9:30 am on Wednesday morning. As one who cannot begin a day without breakfast, the offer was enticing although I expected there would be a crowd. I dutifully began my morning by taking Lulu (my writing assistant and loyal dog) for her usual stroll about the grounds and then decided to partake of this free offer.

It was a big mistake. Chick-fil-A was busting at the seams with patrons massed at the counter all trying to edge to the front of the line and cars were formed-up for half-a-mile burning precious gas while they waited at the drive-thru for their "freebie". I will admit I walked to the door, gazed at the mass of humanity and immediately retreated the quarter mile to where I had found a parking place.

The thought of entering that "flu party" while waiting to obtain my free breakfast sandwich and noting the scarcity of seating was a hurdle I didn't want to attempt at the start of the day. I walked back to my car and observing the lack of patrons at an adjacent restaurant decided that the morning paper, a good breakfast in more quiet and less turbulent surrounds with a seat was more to my liking.

A I contemplated that morning event, I began to muse about the familiar "free lunch" adage. I had in fact passed up the proverbial "free lunch" and was happier for it. I wondered why there were so many that were willing to join the fray, waste their time and subject themselves to the disease of the day all to obtain a free $1 breakfast sandwich. What's up with that?

Is this like politics where the Presidential candidates are promising each of us a free lunch? The promises of more jobs, higher wages, shortened work hours, lower taxes, reduced health care costs and the many additional promises which each candidate espouses on their web-sites just can't be true. Or could it be true? And if it is true, will I be required to dutifully line up like the patrons at Chick-fil-A awaiting my benefit?

Did I just have an epiphany? Do I really want to be enticed by the offer and then find myself humiliated and degraded as I dutifully bow to the server holding my portion and reminding me to return early for lunch? I don't think so. I'd rather work a bit harder or longer and enjoy the fruits of my labor in an environment where I can enjoy the setting.

Could this be the change that the candidates are talking about? Call me old-fashioned, but I'd rather that government simply provide a level playing field with the attendant opportunity to succeed and I'll take it from there. I don't need a free lunch with all the associated hassle.

We all seem to be seeking something for nothing. Charles Krauthammer, a Washington Post columnist suggests that "our government has assumed all kinds of powers, regulations, manipulations and intrusions (mostly through tax codes) that were never created or imagined by our Founding Fathers." We then become dependent and lose our motivation and sense of initiative. Why should I look for a job when I can receive months of unemployment benefits? Why strive for a technical or professional education when the government will give me a job? Why get health insurance when I can use the free clinic?

Lest I be labeled "cold hearted", I recognize a need for help from time to time, but I often wonder if benefits are abused.

Well, I certainly have taken the Chick-fil-A episode to great lengths, but it served to remind me about how government can steal our independence if we allow it. I sure hope voters take that into consideration prior to casting their ballots. Or will we crowd the counter hoping for some "freebie"?