As a self-professed Libertarian, I often wonder what it will take to have people reclaim responsibility for themselves. Too many blame others for their circumstance and look to government for solutions rather than starting with themselves.
North America was founded by Libertarians although that term did not exist at the time. They were self-reliant and if they did need help from others, they looked to their neighbours or to family.
That was then.
Today, the ties that bound family have broken or frayed and neighbours too often are distant or entirely anonymous.
The former self-reliant citizen now depends completely on the system for his or her welfare. The State has become omnipotent.
Europe has succumbed entirely, - as has Canada, where I suspect 2/3 rds of our population finds itself in the dependent category. Only the USA remains the battle-ground between the two approaches and it is currently split evenly - 50/50, with the dependents in ascendancy.
There are a host of reasons for this outcome including urbanization, universal social programs, breakdown of the family, decline in religion, and, most important, the never ending growth in government.
Why is this bad?
With dependency comes apathy. Is it any wonder that voting levels are in steep decline? More important though, it replaces the need to think. Indeed, why bother thinking when the government will and does do it for you?
The government tells you the ozone layer is disintegrating, that global cooling and / or warming is occurring, that climate change is upon us or whatever the flavour of the month is and you - the citizen must immediately do whatever is asked, without giving it thought. And most of us do.
We are regulated and legislated to death. Soon you will need a permit or licence to breathe. And the public response - zilch. All the while government continues to grow.
Being on the heavy side I used to joke that some day government would tell McDonald's how much fat they could put in their hamburgers. I thought that a bit off the wall but now it has happend.
Even more bizarre, in Europe they have imposed a tax on cow flatulence and I have read where the tax is likely to be levied here in North America soon. Who'd want to be the enforcer of that tax?
If America loses in its fight to retain a semblance of liberatianism, and it looks as though it will, we will have lost.
If that occurs, the future will not be worth experiencing.
"Galagher"
post script: in my blog about a new way to calculate civil servant salaries, one of my readers commented that my suggestion was "terrible". She of course was married to a civil servant. When I asked her if my analysis was correct- she quickly admitted it was. Kudos for her honesty. (I was thinking though - another possible approach to determining government salaries would be to establish a % of its private sector equivalent e.g. 60 - 70% - more on that later... G)
