As I poured the milk on my cereal one morning recently, I heard Mel King on the news, excoriating Boston Mayor Thomas Menino's record on high school drop-out rates in the city.
Mr. King, if you didn't know, is a political fixture in Boston, who makes his living as an "educator" and community activist. The gist of his support for Menino's opponent in the mayoral race in Boston, Mr. Flaherty, is that Menino is somehow responsible for the high minority drop-out rate in the city's schools. He was promoting Flaherty as an agent of "change," who will make it the government's responsibility to keep kids in school.
To Mel King, it takes a village, folks.
To me, if you will excuse my political incorrectness, it takes a family. It takes parents who accept the responsibility of making sure their children become productive members of society. Sinisterly inherent in Mr. King's point, and behind almost all of the points the left makes in lamenting any perceived social injustice, is that all problems in society are "we" problems and not "you" problems. The left simply cannot bring itself to wrap its arms around the concept of personal responsibility.
Allow me to make some simple elaborations presently. Health care for children and the elderly are "we" problems. Health care for a 380-pound guy who does nothing to take care of himself and subsists on fast food is a "you" problem. Providing a safe and effective school system is a "we" problem. Keeping your kid in school and off the streets is a "you" problem. (How unions have ruined our education system is a topic for another day.)
Distilled: If your child drops out of school, it's not my problem. This is your problem.
On a larger scale, these concepts are a battle waged for the very soul of our nation. Western democracy and market capitalism are systems founded on the concept of the importance of the individual and his responsibility as a free-thinking, rational and responsible part of society. This powerful concept emerged in Europe as the Enlightenment, a period of unparalleled advancement of scientific and creative achievement. When combined with market capitalism, its natural fit as an economic system, it is what has made the United States the most powerful and prosperous nation on earth.
Progressives such as Mr. King and his colleagues promote the concept of the Collective, in which individuals are no longer responsible for their actions and achievements, but that somehow we all are in this "together" and responsible for each other. This philosophy makes for appealing sound bites and heart-wrenching speeches, but, folks, the Collective doesn't work. It is not only wrong, but it's highly erosive and will lead to our decline as a nation.
If you need an example, take western Europe. After having embraced the Collective philosophy for several generations, by any demographic measurement it is a society in decline. Contrast this with China, which has moved dramatically away from the Collective philosophy to embrace the sanctity of the Individual. China is emerging as an economic and military force to be reckoned with, and has experienced a rapid rise in living standards for its people over the past 20 years.
I paint with a broad brush here, and there will be micro-arguments to my macro position. I'd ask you, dear reader, where will you stand? Will you support the foundations of what made our nation great or will you support the soft bigotry that is at the root of the Collective way of thought? In my opinion there is no middle position — you are either in or you are out. At the risk of sounding cliche, I'll keep my money, my guns and my freedom. Mr. King, you can keep your "change."
¢¢¢
Phil Sayles lives in Newburyport.
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