America Needs More Daniel Boones

As a child of the 1960s, I grew up watching black and white reruns of The Lone Ranger starring Clayton Moore as the title character, The Rifleman starring Chuck Conner as rancher Lucas McCain, and Combat starring Vic Morrow as Sgt. “Chip” Saunders. They, along with the starting lineup of my beloved New York Yankees, were my heroes, my idols, and my role models… all rolled up in one.

And once our family bought a color TV, I was glued to the set each week as Fess Parker portrayed that great American folk hero and frontiersman, Daniel Boone, in a series of the same name.

Ed Ames co-starred as Mingo, Boone’s half-Cherokee friend, and football star Rosie Grier also made frequent guest appearances as did country music singer (and sausage maker) Jimmy Dean. But it was Fess Parker’s manly portrayal of Daniel Boone that caused me to tune in week after week… and to this day I can still sing the show’s theme song by heart.

Here are a few choice excerpts…

Daniel Boone was a man, yes, a big man!
With an eye like an eagle and as tall as a mountain was he!
Daniel Boone was a man, yes, a big man!
He was brave, he was fearless, and as tough as a mighty oak tree!
From the coonskin cap on the top of ol′ Dan to the heel of his rawhide shoe
The rippin'est, roarin′est, fightin'est man, the frontier ever knew!
Daniel Boone was a man, yes, a big man!
And he fought for America to make all Americans free!
What a Boone! What a doer! What a dream come-er-true-er was he!

I was reminded of that TV series – and of the real Daniel Boone – last week when I engaged in a back-and-forth conversation with someone on Substack. I am not sure how the dialogue got started, but I know where it went as well as where it ended up.

Basically, the gentleman who commented on my original post couldn’t say a single nice thing about the United States. Meanwhile, he went on and on about how wonderful things were in Sweden, Finland, and other Scandinavian countries. From their “free” education to their “free” healthcare, he portrayed those Nordic nations as a virtual paradise where gun violence is unheard of, new parents are granted a year off from work, and retirees haven’t a care in the world.

I countered with a simple question: at what cost?

Most Swedes, for instance, only pay a local income tax that averages between 29% and 35% of their annual income. A bit steep for sure, but there are those aforementioned benefits, right?

Not so fast. If your income exceeds a threshold set by the ominous-sounding national Tax Agency, you are also required to pay an additional 20% state tax. Ouch! We’re starting to get a little pricey.

So, we’re up to 50%-55% of our annual income being confiscated by the local and federal governments to pay for all the “free” programs we enjoy throughout the year. O.K., at least we still have almost half of our income to live on, so it’s still a pretty good deal, right?

Nope! Sweden, like most European countries, has a Value Added Tax (VAT) otherwise known as a national sales tax that adds a whopping 25% to the cost of virtually everything you buy.

GULP!

All of a sudden, our annual take-home pay is down to a piddling 20% or so. Unless, of course, you realized some capital gains this year, which are taxed at 30%... or you are a small business owner (look out for the 20.6% corporate tax)… or you live in Stockholm or Gothenburg, in which case you are hit with a “congestion tax” for living in a high-density area.

In other words, in exchange for the “cradle to grave” care that you so desperately wanted, you have basically signed over not only your paycheck but also your personal sovereignty to the State.

Here is where it gets really crazy…

When I shared that information with the gentleman on Substack, he was fine with that arrangement. Oh, and he was also OK with forfeiting his right to own a firearm because he trusted the federal government to protect him and his family.

Which brings us back to Daniel Boone.

I can’t imagine “the rippin'est, roarin′est, fightin'est man, the frontier ever knew” handing over his Kentucky long rifle to anyone, let alone the federal government. Nor can I picture the man who opened America’s western frontier by blazing the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap relying on anybody or anything other than his own wit, skills, and hard work to provide for himself, his wife Rebecca, and their 10 children.

Self-reliance is the American way… period. It is what made our country great, and it is what has kept our country strong for 249 years and counting.

Trading it away for a soft bed and a warm meal is not an option. Not for Lucas McCain, not for Sgt. Chip Saunders, and most definitely not for me.

(Editor’s note: Teddy Roosevelt never knew Daniel Boone, but apparently, they were both cut from the same fine American-made cloth. Here are two quotes from our 26th President that are both apt and inspiring…

“The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, and the love of soft living…”

“The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his own weight.”)