Over the past several years, I have noticed a trend that is very concerning to me and to certain people in other parts of the world who value success and determination. It seems that a particular segment of our population has learned to fear, or even work against, success and achievement. They almost seem to want to penalize success and to tear down any organization or individual willing to challenge the status quo.
As a case in point, EU regulators recently fined X, Elon Musk’s social media platform, 140 million USD for allegedly breaching their Digital Services Act. This seems rather strange, given that a foreign government entity can levy fines against a company chartered in another country, especially for something involving free speech. What are the motivations for this type of behavior? A good illustration of this might be recent comments by Liz Truss, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. She recently said, “Europeans are insanely jealous” of the United States’ economic conditions. She further stated that European economies are stagnant and people’s living standards are dropping.
From my perspective, these issues are relatively simple. The EU has spent more than a decade attempting to regulate American tech giants, and the result has not produced any major European successes. In fact, the opposite has happened: more substantial US platforms operating globally, weaker local competition, and a continent that purchases or rents digital infrastructure from others while continuing to squabble over homegrown solutions. EU bureaucracy didn’t slow down big tech, but it did slow down Europe.
Need additional proof of the decay involving innovation? Then look no further than the recent mayoral elections in two of our largest cities, Seattle and New York City. I ask that you carefully review what these individuals campaigned on and how this will impact their futures and those of their citizens. Do their ideas encourage people to innovate or look for ways to achieve a better, more comfortable life? My view is that most people want a helping hand, not a handout.
Another topic that has been in the news lately involves short sellers of listed stocks. Let me begin by saying that I understand short-selling is legal; however, is it ethical? In theory, short sellers are intended to help expose overvalued companies. They are designed to challenge overly optimistic values. In my view, short selling becomes unethical when there is a coordinated effort to distort information for one’s personal gain, and this can and does happen with social media campaigns. Many people, including me, feel short sellers are betting on failure rather than betting on success. Manipulation and intentional misrepresentation are attempts to exploit regulatory gaps and generally cause harm rather than seek the truth.
Another example involves payday lending. In most states, payday loans are legal, but are they ethical? Many people say they are not because they target financially vulnerable people, charge high rates, and, in many cases, trap desperate borrowers in a vicious cycle of debt. In my view, a key issue is that simply because something follows the law does not make it ethical. Ethics involves fairness and transparency, and sometimes legality and ethics do not align. I certainly realize many of these actions depend on intent, which is arguably difficult to prove.
It seems that if you have a different opinion, then mainstream media or a particular group of people will launch a vicious smear campaign against you. It appears they identify this as an opportunity to “cancel” you. This cancel culture mentality cannot be allowed to happen if you believe in our way of life, which is based on people fully realizing their dreams and using their talents. These pessimists must fail if we are to continue to strive for the kind of innovation and hope that AI will provide in the future. I have read many times that there will be more innovations for improving our lives in the next 10 years than in the previous 50. These innovations include industries as diverse as healthcare, the environment, agriculture, transportation, and government efficiency and transparency at all levels, to name a few.
Ultimately, here is what we should be striving for:
- Free market capitalism
- Rational self-interest
- Respect for achievement and success
- Free speech
- The future of young people and our way of life
And here is what we should be fighting against:
- Cancel Culture
- An educational system indoctrinating young people to embrace socialism
- A culture that demonizes success and embraces distorted ideas
- Big government that aims to control every aspect of your life
It is rather sad that many of our young people are learning to embrace socialism, reject critical thinking skills, and neglect their creativity and passions to learn. To quote the great American philosopher (and an outstanding football coach) Vince Lombardi, “Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all-the-time thing. Winning is a habit; unfortunately, so is losing. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in everything we do.”
Let’s not forget this as we face the incredible challenges to build a better, more prosperous future.
Prepared by Terry L. Stroud – December 2025
