The question that seemed to have no answer was this: How is it possible that that some of my friends and family do not suffer from the visceral fear I have that we are allowing our country to be destroyed?
In discussing political candidate choices and policy decisions, we are rarely on the same page; most often we are just not reading from the same playbook. For years I have been convinced that we have done such a poor job as a society of teaching the philosophy of economics that if we could only somehow educate people on the difference between, say, Keynes and Freidman , all would be well.
The revelation was this:
Dinner table debates about economic philosophy are rarely satisfying precisely because most US citizens who have derived their well-being from our system of free enterprise are incapable of imagining anything other than this country being wealthy, or they themselves being comfortable and secure. In other words - our system of contract law, free markets, property rights and limited government has worked so well, and rewarded so many people so well, that a lot of our citizens are cerebrally incapable of believing that things could go bad. If you don’t understand why things have gone well, how can you understand why things could go bad?
Can you imagine a USA where the government is incapable of assisting the poor?
Can you imagine a USA incapable of defending itself or its allies?
Can you imagine a USA that is not in a position of world leadership?
Can you imagine a USA where the populace is so concerned with eking out a living that they have no time, energy, or money to devote to popular causes like global warming, endangered species, or environmental pollution?
These concepts are nearly impossible to envision, and because we can’t even envision them they generate little discomfort, and certainly no visceral fear. After all we have been immune for generations from truly troublesome times. The last Americans who lived with visceral fear for their country and the American way of life are just about gone (WWII vets and families).
Well, you might say, "what about those of us who lived through the “Cold War”?", we were certainly afraid. Yes, we were afraid, we practiced hiding under your desk during school drills, and our neighbors built underground bunkers in their back yards. We were afraid of a nuclear holocaust. I believe that our fear was backstopped and limited. The American economy was on an unparalleled upswing, generating wealth unforeseen in human history. We had taken on and defeated two fundamental global attempts at destroying personal liberty, and the surviving heroes were still among us, working, going to church, and raising families. We were diligent and resilient and most importantly a portion of our population still carried the scars of battle and lived with the visceral fear of losing their freedoms. These veterans carried our fear and formed the base for our cultural memory which endured for decades.
Gone nearly completely now is our fear of survival, fading fast is our fear of failing as a society, and only a glimmer exists that our form of republican government (as constituted) is an ideal and an example for all of humanity.
Visceral fear for the well- being of our country is just not widely felt. Those who do feel it deeply and poignantly are at the sharp end of the spear and now close to a minority. In the main they are the warriors waging an economic battle every day for the survival of their small business, the economist philosophers who understand human behavior and history, the brave politicians fighting a tough battle for the restoration and preservation of founding principles, and the in-service patriots valiantly defending our country, communities and the rule of law (if you were left out, please accept my apology).
The USA’s ability to thrive since its founding was based on our incredible resilience, our resilience was based on our economic vitality and our economic vitality was derived from our constitutional foundation of personal liberty. Until a deep sense of fear for the loss of our liberties, and fear for our children and grandchildren's economic future is felt by a majority, we will continue to see America become more fragile.
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