America was founded on the idea that a free people could self govern and excel with minimal intrusion from governing forces. But how free are we really today? It has some 235+ years since this experiment we call the United States of America began and I often wonder what our Founding Fathers would think of our country if they were here today. Would they stand proud with our elected leaders? Would they marvel at the advancement of our society? Would they even recognize us as a “free people”? We are certainly not the republic that was established on the principals of freedom that these great men, in their own time of struggle, sacrificed to come together and formed what was the basis for what would become the greatest and most free nation on earth.
Today, as we enter another election year and prepare to once again to exercise a remaining freedom, our ability as citizens to cast our vote for the leadership of what is still purported to be our representative government. It would behoove us to do some self examination. Each of us stands at a point in our lives where we have our collected experience, education, and hopes for the future. Our perspective is shaped largely by our selected focus. For many it is pop culture and the influence of modern media. This is true for much of the younger generation who has largely been deprived of a foundational education including historical American socio-economic perspectives while being bombarded at an ever increasing rate with unceasing globalized messages. For some, like me, the modern information age is something of an amusement, but it is troubling at the same time.
My generation was taught a somewhat distorted version of our countries foundational principals, but it was taught at a time when the available information was largely what was taught in our classrooms and influenced only by a very few media venues. I grew up in an era when we were fearful of an always impending attack from the U.S.S.R., It was the time of the cold war. We were drilled on what to do when the “bomb” was dropped quite regularly as I lived near a major military installation which was thought to be a standing target for Soviet missiles. Our perspectives were more locally based and reflected largely upon our immediate environment much more than do the perspectives of youth today. Of course there are the generation of my parents and still a few of the prior generation still holding on. These senior “citizens” experienced a vastly different information age than either I or my children, and as such their perspective, having lived through world wars, real economic depressions, social and governmental actions that we only vaguely are reminded of, have yet a different take on the condition of our society today.
So which is correct? Are any of them? Does it really matter? Does our collective foundational experience and education matter in the decision we are once again to make as “free citizens” of this great land? The answer to that question will vary as much as the experience of those answering. And that is our problem. We will not be able to agree on a course forward until we come to agreement on the past.
Regardless of our perspectives about the current state of our union, which is somewhat dire by many accounts, we cannot move forward with any hope in the future unless we know what it is that we hope for. Hope, itself, requires a point of reference, a basis from which to improve. That is the legacy of our nation. We were founded on the idea that we as a people, unencumbered by despotic rule would be able to excel at a rate greater than all the rest of the world who had their hope limited by the restrictions placed upon them for whatever reasons by governing authorities. That principle, as long as it was allowed to flourish in segments of our society created the opportunity of hope and the environment of entrepreneurial growth that created the greatest economy on earth, one that has survived even until now. But today things are different.
Do we still have the hope of our forefathers? Is the opportunity for hope still allowed to flourish unencumbered by regulatory and governmental intrusion? Are we the free people that our forefathers envisioned or have we allowed ourselves, to come under a system of rule that places our point of reference for hope at a place vastly different than was that of our founders?
If we have no reference point, then we have no hope, as such, little matters as to the direction we choose to go forward. We are at a crossroads once again, we will continue but in what direction? If we have no destination in mind, then the direction really doesn’t matter. But there is a problem even with the idea that individually, one may not have an interest or opinion on what the future should be because there are many that do and they do not all agree. They do not have a common point of reference or understanding of our society and in some cases don’t care or believe that a historical reference is valued. There are some, a growing minority, which believe that what we call America was never exceptional or if it was it was exceptionally wrong. As such their perspective leads them toward an activism that will reshape our nation if they are allowed to be the active driver in the process. Worse yet, even those who share this negative view of America do not agree on the direction for the future, but they are willing to work together to fragment what is the current norm, to destabilize power such that they can then seize opportunity to reshape this nation into their world view whatever that is.
Today we stand at a crossroads. Some give dire warnings that we have already gone over the cliff, past the point of no return, that we are in the grasp of those who will remake our country on the world stage. There are those who say we are near the cliff, ready to fall into the precipice, that we must put on the brakes, and do an about face. Then there are those who just came along for the ride and are being used as willing pawns in an integral game, waiting to see what the future holds.
The examination that must take place, in order for hope of any sort to prevail, is one of individual worth and our individual role in this society. Who am I? What can I say I know with certainty and what is that knowledge based on? What do I hope for, and what role do I have in making it happen?
Today, at our crossroads we have a seemingly insurmountable national debt, a national government that is largely dysfunctional at best and vastly corrupt in many corridors of power. We have a judicial system filled with biases rather than impartiality and seeking power of law making rather than justice of laws in place. We have become a society regulations meant to protect us from ourselves that that largely restrict our freedoms and inhibit innovation. We have ceded much of our independence, our freedom and our wealth to others, unions, association heads, local and state entities as well as federal bureaucracies, in the hope that the result will be more favorable for us individually. We have created institutions of power to protect “our freedoms” when in reality all that they do restricts our freedom, and largely removes the wealth apparent in individual independence. No oversight comes without cost. Our Founding Fathers new this, they knew that when power was collected in the few that only the interests of the few would be served. This is why they limited the powers of our federal government and retained the right of governance to the people.
Our republic form of government was never meant to “care” for the individual, only to protect his/her freedom and to allow the pursuit of life liberty and happiness. There was never any guarantee on the outcome or promise of a living standard or even of success of effort. There was only the protection from influences that would restrict the potential of the individual.
So here we are with high unemployment, massive debt, an increasingly unstable world, all with governing powers more despotic or chaotic than even our own. Is there reason for hope? Can the future be brighter than the past? Can America remain or return to the exceptional role it has held for the part to centuries, a powerful and robust society that has survived under a single form of government for longer than any other society on earth? Is it possible? Is it even what we hope for as a people? Is it what you hope for individually? Do you want the opportunity to prosper? Do you want the freedom to choose your pursuit and enjoy the fruits of your labors or is your hope for a different idea?
Who are you? Are you willing to do what is necessary to overcome the obstacles that are placed in your path or are you a willing pawn in someone else’s game? Not everyone has the desire to achieve the same level of success. Not everyone even defines success in the same terms, but common to all success is an individual characteristic applied by those who create the means and act to achieve what they hope for. What do you hope for and are you willing to create your success?
If you have read my background sketch in my initial post, you may wonder if I consider myself successful. After all, I left a life of great financial reward and today live a life of modest means largely removed from the mounting “progress” of our society. I do consider myself a success, defined from my own perspective as having been able to choose and exact my own future. You see this is the point of this and my future posts, we should not be told what success looks like or be pressured to obtain what someone else perceives success to be. We live in a unique society, founded upon principals of freedom that were meant to afford each of us to define for ourselves what success means. We are meant to be free individuals having the ability to pursue the destination of our choice. I have achieved success in various venues of life I have chosen to participate and have been afforded the freedom to excel as I desired. My pursuits have changed as my desires for life and family have matured and I have had the freedom to pursue those changing interests, with no guarantees, no promises, but with the opportunity to choose, for myself, my destiny. So yes, I by my definition, am successful and am still pursuing success in life as I choose today.
There is the opportunity for hope. The future is not lost except as we individually allow it to be. The solutions both for our individual success and for the success of our union as a constitutional republic are based on simple sound principals that, when applied, allow for the greatest freedom and potential for success.
We are about to choose a President for our national government. We will also choose the balance of our legislative branch. Together they will appoint and shape the direction of our judicial system. Individually we have a role in shaping the direction of our nation and the principles that we must use to guide us in the decisions we make on the national front should be the same as those that we apply to our own lives. The rules of success do not change when applied to government. What is good for us individually is in the best interest of our nation. The same principals that are used to balance a checkbook, pay bills, put food on the table and create a daily life, govern the halls of Washington, or at least they should. Fiscal responsibility and the virtue of self reliance are just as important nationally as they are for each of us individually. When looking for solutions to national problems, first look to how we must solve our individual problems. Let’s look at a national problem on an individual level.
Unemployment is a relative and divisive concept. In my previous post I addressed some statistics and their manipulation to serve the interests of certain parties in power. On an individual level, it is an issue both of emotional and physical value. But is there such a thing as unemployment? Yes, by choice we may be unemployed, underemployed, dependant, even destitute.
I guess I am unemployed but uncounted as such if I were to look at it from the perspective of governmental statistics. I made the decision to leave the corporate world a little over 7 years ago. I had reached a point where I could make such a decision, financially and still attain a standard of living that I regard as successful. I have never taken unemployment, never applied for any type of government assistance. I have paid a fortune in taxes and into social security, but never expect to see it returned. I still work, everyday. I still create a standard of living for my family and teach each of my children the value of work, freedom, and independence. I choose not to work for others at this point but do what is necessary to maintain my desired living standard. I am amazed to hear of unemployment numbers as they are today, to hear of stories of loss of home, of necessity of unemployment benefits being extended to unprecedented levels, and government assistance at all time highs, while at the same time I see help wanted signs, needs for services, want for goods, and opportunities for employment everywhere.
What are the governing principles that have resulted in this situation? They were certainly not fiscally sound, nor were they based on individual responsibility or self reliance. Economics 101, no, 1st grade math teaches that there are only so many pieces in a pie. Before you can eat the pie you must first create it, and regardless of the portion size, when it is gone it is gone. Never has there been a foundational principal that was sound that indicated that from one pie could the benefits of more than one pie be enjoyed. Well I guess there is an example in the bible, but that invoked intervention beyond our mortal capabilities. Before one can enter the fray of advanced mathematics or economics, a sound foundation of basic math and the ability to exact its use is required. When one has advanced in studies beyond his capability, a return to that which is understood is required before advancement may occur successfully. This is natural law. It is not theoretical hypothesis; it is just the way it is.
We learn and develop our abilities in steps, as our applied ability grows, we are able to exact a greater level of reward for that ability. We should expect nothing more. If our ability is dependent on another then we must accurately assess our willingness to associate our ability with that individual and or entity and not commit ourselves physically, emotionally or financially beyond our ability to maintain that commitment without the assistance of the other. This is the basic principal of self reliance.
When related to the context of employment, the significance is undeniable yet for much of our society it has been largely forgotten. We have become a society of living beyond our means so much that we do not really grasp what our means, individually, even are. In context of freedom, the significance is even more evident. The idea of “employment” is to give up of a portion of one’s freedom, in return for an agreed upon reward (ie: I have an ability which I will use to the benefit of the employer in return for the compensation that is agreed upon. ). Therefore the employee gives up the freedom of his time and his ability to do with that time as he chooses, to use the ability that is of benefit to the employer in return for the agreed upon compensation. This is actually a form of advanced mathematics and involves a logic assessment of risk vs. reward rather than purely a numerical solution. Sometimes, we as employees forget that. We assume that the numerical solution of basic math will always hold true, neglecting the variables involved that are associated with the particular equation we allow ourselves to become variables to. This does not change the basic premise of the mathematical law, it just may be an advanced level that we are not fully prepared to exact or commit ourselves to.
Ponder this:
Why, when individuals are often unprepared to even assess the employment risks in the situations they enter into, do they allow themselves to commit, financially, to obligations that are entirely dependent on their ability to generate a level of wealth from a situation that they are even not capable of assessing the associated risk of. Just because one obtains employment, in no way ensures continued employment without a great deal of additional factors being taken into consideration.
I have heard so many stories of heartless bank foreclosures and of repossessions, layoffs, and heartless businesses who “put profits before employees”. What I hear little of is the fact that no one forced anyone into a mortgage that they could not afford, if anything banks were to lenient to those who wanted, but had questionable judgment and means. I have never heard of a repossession that occurred as a result of a borrower who lived up to his obligations, and as for businesses and employees, barring any extenuating contracts, the employer settles his obligation to the employee every payday, often paying for services that could have been rendered more effectively but the paychecks are still granted for hours served even if they were not of the highest caliber.
So let’s be real. The responsibility for our employment is not someone else’s, and the value of our time is what we are able to extract for it, not some scale associated with a predetermined wage because of education, membership in a union guild or association, it is what we agree to and are willing to work for. The responsibility for our ability to maintain any level of lifestyle is not the responsibility of government, your neighbor or even your father. It is the responsibility of each of us for ourselves and those whom we have obligated ourselves to.
I have acquaintances who would rather sit home and receive assistance than to go out and work in a field that was not their field of educational training. They seem to feel that they are owed something merely because they were educated at a certain level. I say that when they received their diploma they got what they earned. Anything more is left to negotiation and performance. I come from a pay for performance and right to work background. I believe that each of us have the right to make whatever honest living wage we are able exact by our performance for anyone who is willing to provide value for our services. But no one is owed anything beyond the value of his honest hard work.
I may sound course, and frankly I am admittedly a little calloused toward the grossly regulated and deteriorating level of workforce that is entering and in the workplace today. It is one of the reasons I chose to leave a corporate carrier. Too many whiners with expectations that ability does not back up, not enough prideful workers willing to do what it takes to excel. To too many employees who think they are owed more than what they contracted for in their work agreement, to much government intrusion and regulation in the work place to continue the risk of personal capital for decreasing returns.
Having said that, there is work available, there are opportunities in the market place that abound for those who are willing to put themselves forward, taking calculated risks to earn the associated reward. But it is a different market place and one must adapt to the necessary changes of those who are still willing to risk their personal wealth on the services of those who have needed talent.
What we need is less government assistance, less government intrusion, less governmental oversight and less required contribution to bloated inefficient redistributive governmental programs. We need more personal responsibility, more self worth and self reliance. What we need is leadership who will remove governmental obstacles, build confidence in the worth of American entrepreneurship and engage in practices that allow for the risk reward cycle of our unique capitalist system to flourish once again.
What does that mean in terms of a president and what is his role in our American economy? That is the topic of my next post. “What America needs is an exceptional leader.”
No comments:
Post a Comment