‘A departure from principle in one instance becomes a precedent for a second, that second for a third, and so on, till the bulk of the society is reduced to be mere automatons of misery, to have no sensibilities left but for sin and suffering. Then begins indeed the bellum omnium in omnia which some philosophers, observing [it] to be so general in this world, have mistaken… for the natural instead of the abusive state of man. And the forehorse of this frightful team is public debt. Taxation follows that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression.’ (Thomas Jefferson, 1816)
The debt problems plaguing our country have been in the works for a very long time. The federal debt has been an ongoing concern since the FDR administration first used deficit spending as a policy tool to stimulate our economy. Federal debt existed before the Great Depression, but the 1930’s saw a dramatic increase in federal debt which has grown steadily since that time, only to explode in the 1980’s. Prior to the 1980’s, the federal debt was a problem that could have been dealt with relatively painlessly had there been sufficient political willpower to do so.
However, as anybody in this country can observe for themselves, not only has the can been repeatedly kicked down the road by previous elected officials (of both parties), our federal debt has recently grown to crisis proportions - especially since the stock market crash of late 2008. It has been quite popular to blame the politicians for our debt woes, but the blame is misplaced. We need to collectively look in our mirrors to find the true culprits. The People themselves are to blame on at least two levels: 1) we elected the leaders who brought us to this point and 2) we elected those leaders to ‘bring the bacon home’ to our districts. The latter consists almost entirely of legal plunder in one form or another. Granted, plunder is not entirely to blame for our fiscal woes - our excessive expenditures on policing the world through the use of our military has contributed significantly to our deficit spending and must be addressed as well - but this is a subject for a future post.
Legal plunder is a fact of life here in America as well as abroad. I grew up with it, accepting it without question. But the inherently immoral nature of the system is eventually discovered by those who are courageous enough to think for themselves. It is then that a sense of moral outrage sets in - a sense of injustice takes hold. The outrage has nothing to do with greed or selfishness, but stems from a legitimate sense of injustice done to the productive members of society at the hands of morally myopic do-gooders. Social spending in the form of entitlement programs - the heart and soul of progressive causes - is not only unsustainable financially, it is morally at odds with our natural rights. We cannot continue down this path of collectivism without ultimately destroying the economic viability of our country - not to mention the very legitimacy of our government.
I will concede that most of us are busy with our lives and seldom find the time for proper reflection regarding political matters - therefore we rely heavily on our elected leaders to do what is right and proper. But this approach has proven disastrous for our nation. Our lack of critical thinking skills, a general disregard for our civic duties, and the increasing influence of moral relativism in our society has led to a dangerous political climate. Furthermore, Americans no longer think for themselves as Leonard E. Read, founder of the ‘Foundation for Economic Education’ demonstrates in the following excerpt from his essay “Accent On the Right”:
And what counsel can you and I offer individuals who are doing no thinking for themselves? So, let's explore the two significant questions this deplorable situation seems to pose. To assess the political consequences, view the American populace as a market. Suppose, for instance, that the consumer tastes in literature have deteriorated until there is demand for pornography only. Pornographic authors and publishers will spring up by the thousands; authors and publishers of ethical, moral, and spiritual works will fade away for lack of a market. Reverse the market situation and assume only highly elevated tastes in literature. Authors and publishers of pornography will then be displaced by authors and publishers of high-grade literature. One needs no poll to determine the literary tastes of a people. Merely observe the kind of literature that is gaining in favor and profit. We can infer from this that it is useless to blame commentators, authors, and publishers for purveying trash. They are merely irresponsible responses to the general taste - the market – whatever it is.1 The market determines who are to be the successful purveyors.
Market demand also determines the kinds of persons who vie with each other for political office. Assume a people who do no thinking for themselves. Theirs is a stunted skepticism. Such people only react and are easy prey of the cliché, the plausibility, the shallow promise, the lie. Emotional appeals and pretty words are their only guidelines. The market is made up of no-thinks. Statesmen - men of integrity and intellectual stature - are hopelessly out of demand. When this is the situation, such statesmen will not be found among the politically active. And who may we expect to respond to a market where thinking for self is absent? Charlatans! Word mongers! Power seekers! Deception artists! They come out of their obscurity as termites out of a rotten stump; the worst rise to the political top. And when our only choice is "the lesser of two evils," voting is a sham.
Is this not an accurate description of politics in America today? We the People have brought our current calamity upon ourselves. Our system of government cannot work unless the People are about the business of governing themselves. If we are not careful, we will soon have squandered the heritage of a profoundly wise and just system of government, proving once and for all that man is incapable of governing himself.
Recommended reading: ‘The 5000 Year Leap’ (National Center for Constitutional Studies), a thoroughly enlightening account of the rise of the American Republic and the Founders’ views of the proper role of government.
1 Read makes the following exception: Men of virtue and talents - the natural aristocracy, to use Jefferson's term - would never irresponsibly respond to the lure of either fame or fortune should the response contradict their concept of righteousness. Man cannot stoop below his goodness.
No comments:
Post a Comment