|
STATISM AND SNOBBERY |
|
|
|
Written by Dr. Joel Wade
|
|
Friday, 30 July 2010 |
Satisfaction and happiness in life are significantly dependent upon an
individual's ability to make things happen effectively in his or her life.
Having activities that you can focus
on, act on, and engage in competently and effectively is part of what makes
life worth living. The ability to choose activities that matter to you, that
make life worth living, and that you are truly capable of performing well is fundamental to a happy life.
This is true for everyone, not
just those above a certain IQ, or those who have graduated from college at an
elite university.
Here's a basic truth of human nature: we tend to like to be with people like
ourselves. We who are politically and philosophically
conservative/libertarian/classical liberal tend to enjoy the company of like-minded
folks - this is part of what's so delightful about going to a TTP Rendezvous.
Liberal/progressive/left wing people also like to be together with like
minded folks - which is part of what has been so un-delightful for me at times being among my left wing colleagues
in psychology.
And people who enjoy more complicated intellectual challenges tend to like
to be with other folks who think like they do.
There is also a tendency to like to have more people with whom you can relate
- which is part of the desire to "convert" people from their different way of
thinking to your own.
So we now have an elite in politics, media, and academia, who not only share
a common ideology, but who have also mostly attended college, many of the more
outspoken having attended elite universities such as Harvard, Stanford, Yale,
etc.
They want us to be like them. They
think that their way of living, their values, their level of intellect, their
interests are really good; and they
want us all to join them there.
The trouble is, for most of us, where they live is not where we belong,
where we would be comfortable or interested in living. They don't get it that there are a lot of people in America who don't want to be like them.
The big problem is that today, that simple fact of life has become an issue
of morality. If you do not graduate from college, if you do not work in a
profession, and if you do not share the liberal values that predominate in the
population of those who have chosen such a life course, there is now a moral
judgment that goes with that choice.
This is part of the condescension that is directed at the Tea Parties, or
some of the strong conservative leaders that have been emerging such as Sarah
Palin. This was the derision that was aimed at Ronald Reagan.
It is also why there is much less respect culturally today for blue collar
workers among the nation's elite. Sure there's lip service paid by Democrat
politicians, but this is not respect, it is patronizing sympathy for the
"plight" of the downtrodden.
Blue collar workers are used by Democrats as examples - not of good,
honorable, free people making their way with dignity and discipline, put of
poor suffering helpless folks who need the help of the powerful, smart, and
magnanimous dispensers of government relief.
This is insulting, to say the least.
A free society is based necessarily on individual citizens who are willing
and able to take responsibility for their own lives. This is not a burden; it
is the real life requirement for anybody
to live a happy and fulfilling life.
Only a certain percentage of people are going to realistically graduate from
a university and engage in a profession, and so the expectation that this is
the norm or the baseline of functional living (90% of high school seniors think
that they should and will graduate from college, while only about 28% actually
do) is a slap in the face to the majority of people who are perfectly capable
of doing other things extremely well.
The things that most of us do that make life worth living - raising a
family, creating or providing something of value, doing work that brings an
income on which we can live, making tough decisions about where we spend our
money, helping a neighbor in trouble, making a marriage work - these are the
very things that the statists in our governments - Federal, State, and Local -
are trying to relieve us of.
Obama talked about removing some of the tax deductions for giving to charity
and balancing the money that would thereby be lost to those charities by having
the Federal government make some sort of proportionate contributions.
This might somehow equal things out in dollars, but it drains the experience
of direct and effective helping that is a fundamental source of goodwill and
joy between people at all levels of society. It drains the meaning and value
from charity, for both the giver and the receiver.
Income redistribution is no longer about giving the destitute a safety net
that keeps them from starvation, it is now about spreading the wealth around to
solidly middle class, and even upper middle class folks, through free health care, retirement,
and government jobs - not to mention
huge bailouts of multimillion dollar companies.
When that kind of money is being thrown around, what happens to the
incentive for a roofer to work more hours to afford tuition for his kids, or to
build his business so that he can hire more workers? What happens to the mom
who wants to stay at home with her young kids when the government tells her to
get her kids into nursery school to be "socialized?"
What happens to the pride of the married couple who have saved and invested
in their retirement plan over decades, and created a comfortable nest egg that
took discipline and dedication to accumulate, when congress starts talking
about confiscating their 401ks in order to provide for the common retirement of
all the people?
The greatest theft taking place in our
country today is not the theft of taxation, or of the coming inflation. The
greatest theft is the trivializing, by the statist cultural elite in America,
of the basic American values of personal achievement, self-responsibility,
self-discipline, thrift, commitment to family and friends, and pride in doing
whatever one does as well as he or she is able, according to his or her true
abilities - and earning and keeping
the rewards of his or her actions.
The degree to which our government has been draining the life blood from our
daily lives - the ability to freely, actively and effectively create meaningful
value for ourselves and others - is the unspoken levy that the progressive
movement has exacted from the American people for the past century.
The statist cultural elite in America
has painted us all with a broad brush in their image, and attempted to paint
over, in the same stroke, the magnificent detail of our unique individual
abilities.
Greater freedom can wash that illusion away, allowing a car mechanic to
prosper by running his business well, or a furniture upholsterer to create such
a valuable service to his customers that he's far better known and much better
respected in his community than any politician whose name appears promiscuously
on buildings and freeways.
Greater freedom can allow a woman gifted in hair braiding to work from her
home and make a good living, or an oil worker to know that the value of vital
energy that he helps to create and produce is appreciated and respected, and
will not be sacrificed to some politician's green delusions.
It is freedom that allows each of us to find the right fit for ourselves,
not some idealist's image of mass perfection. It's time to return to the
freedom that allows you to be who you are, to own your own life, to find work
and meaningful activities that make life worth living to you.
It's time for the statists to find something else to do besides trying to
decide, for you, what that is.
P.S. I'm now offering, for a limited
time, my coaching services for a reduced fee. I normally charge $130 per hour;
but you can now get five full hours of individual coaching for just $495, or eleven
full hours of coaching for $995. This special fee can be adapted for working
with a business team as well, to get your key people functioning at their best
from a position of strength and well-being. All coaching sessions are by phone
or Skype, so that you can work with me conveniently from wherever you are in
the world. Contact me at
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
or (831) 464-3374, to set up a free 20-30
minute talk.
P.P.S. To get free concise
- and realistic - tips on living a happier life - including new audio updates - sign up at... www.drjoelwade.com
|
Discuss this item on the forums. (4 posts)
|
|
