“What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us. And when we bring what is within us out into the world, miracles happen.”
Henry Stanley Hoskins[1]
“Unless what is within us is petty, selfish and partisan to an extreme”
Me
We are in an age of transition where Americans, free from the demands of daily survival, now seek to rid themselves of the responsibilities of life and place the trust of their own survival on that mythical entity we know as government. Is this, I wonder, a natural evolution in society as Marx had proposed, or is it an inevitable consequence of the human condition? A result of our own choices gradually eroding the concepts of independence we felt when the government was a necessary evil to provide a framework for life, but not control it?
But then again, the “American Experience” was a unique experiment in the history of mankind and governments. Most previous forms of government sought to build power or wealth for those in power and the citizens were capital to be used to support the goals of a few. It was within this context that Ingle and Marx wrote. The actual practice of their theories was, at best, flawed by the intemperance of humanity, which has shown up to dominate almost all great endeavors, (regardless of how the those who live with the dream of humanity as an all-caring species would characterize it).
Those who stand to inherit this nation, when the Baby Boomers finally step aside seem to believe the government must provide far more than what our forefathers envisioned. But then again, haven’t we Baby Boomers and those of the Greatest Generation we come from created the conditions by which those beliefs were institutionalized?
Our parents, the ones who defended western civilization from the Axis powers created the “Great Society,” greatly expanding the safety nets first cast down as part of the “New Deal.” We, as the young of that age, all agreed that the government must help the poorest of our nation to succeed and rise up from the oppression of poverty. Unfortunately, like most government efforts, no one is willing to look back and demand answers as to why all those great ideas have done so little to actually accomplish the ideals upon which they were built. It is far easier to lay the blame at the feet of those who would question the actual results. It is an easy sell for the idealists to believe everything would be perfect if only those other guys weren’t around.
For the past 75-years, the U.S. dollar has been the currency of choice for the world. This has afforded us an unimagined opportunity and fiscal stability. As we continue to place more demands on government than we are willing to pay for, will the dollar remain the international currency of choice? From my simple views, I think you can see our future in the current state of California. Once it was ranked as the top in education, transportation, infrastructure, and economic expansion. Today its infrastructure is crumbling, the cities are degenerating into places of disease and homelessness, home ownership for the middle class is unaffordable, and the government places the rights of non-citizens ahead of its own. Some of the most dominating technical companies of the world have their headquarters in the state, but from what I can tell they are built behind elaborate security where those who have wealth -- are protected from those who don’t. I don’t see where all the power and wealth of these companies, led by the young Gen X, Gen Z and Millennials are doing much to spread their corporate wealth to the working class as their socialist leanings would have you believe. Rather, they call for more government involvement (except where it directly affects their businesses).
So, what will the government look like when, as we will soon see, all our taxes must go to meet the debt payments for the money we’ve borrowed to finance all the great safety nets we’ve created? I wonder, do people really believe what people like NYC mayor Bill de Blasio said on twitter, “Brothers and sisters, there is plenty of money in this country. There is plenty of money in this world. It’s just in the wrong hands.” If only we just took all the money the rich people had made and give it to the poor people it would be perfect. Who better to do this than the government? Oh yes, the politicians in government need to survive so shouldn’t they get a cut off the top? Seems to have worked well in the USSR, Cuba, and Venezuela. Didn’t the government of Finland just dissolve because they could not reach agreement on how to stay solvent while they funded universal healthcare?
Fortunately, the world will end in 12 years, won’t it? Oh, Right! AOC was just kidding, wasn’t she?
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