REAL AMERICA

THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OUR NATION EVER MADE

Exclusive: Patrice Lewis cites moment government negated consequences of stupidity

With stakes so high in the presidential election, it’s exasperating to see the number of idiots who cannot grasp the purpose or function of government. Observe the fools who cheer whenever a candidate proposes a new government program to “take care” of them from cradle to grave. It brings pain to constitutionalists who are watching our beloved country race toward destruction.

One of the most frustrating aspects of these campaign promises is how many people think it’s a constitutional “right” to have the government bail them out of every stupid decision they make.

It occurs to me one of the biggest issues this country faces – and to which many, if not most, of our problems can be attributed – is a loss of personal responsibility. I believe personal responsibility in America started its death spiral when the government began standing between people and their choices, bad and good.

People have always made stupid mistakes. We’re only human, after all. There was a time when they learned from those mistakes because they were forced to deal with the consequences. Perhaps someone’s stupid choices led him or her to bankruptcy. Or shame. Or poverty. Or ill health. Or illegitimate children. Whatever the repercussions, people were forced to recognize that stupid behaviors resulted in complications, and to avoid these complications it was best to avoid the stupid behaviors.

Read that again: To avoid complications caused by bad decisions or behavior, avoid the bad decisions/behaviors causing the complications. Simple, no?

The trouble started when the government stepped in to “fix” these “complications.” Purely in the name of compassion and humanity, it shelled out money for a government solution to keep people from acting stupidly. And what happened? Without consequences, people never learned from their mistakes, so they kept making bad decisions and choices, and the government continued to bail them out.

Unsurprisingly, people learned it’s the government’s business to “fix” their own stupidity.

I’m reminded of an old “Baby Blues” cartoon depicting parents responding to a kid who fell out of a tree. “Good parenting then: ‘I guess you learned a lesson about climbing trees.’ Good parenting now: ‘We need to pass legislation to make trees safer.'”

How times have changed. Now everything is the government’s responsibility, not ours.

Some may ask, what’s wrong with letting the government help people? What’s wrong with government solutions? Aside from the obvious (people won’t learn from their mistakes), consider these passages from Harry Browne’s excellent book, “Why Government Doesn’t Work“:

The bad consequences of a government program usually don’t show up immediately. And the delay may be long enough to hide the connection between the program and its results. … Each government program carries within it the seeds of future programs that will be “needed” to clean up the mess the first program creates. No matter how much mischief it causes, government always shows up in a cavalry uniform – riding in to rescue us from the problems it created.

Government grows, too, because the subsidy given to one group inspires others to demand the same benefits. … That’s why no government program ever stands still. No matter what the stated purpose or limit when implemented, it inevitably expands to cover more and more people – and wider and wider areas.

Once it’s considered proper to use government force to solve one person’s problem, force can be justified to solve anyone’s problem.

Over time, fewer and fewer requests seem out of bounds. And the grounds for saying “no” become more and more eroded. The pressure is on politicians to use coercion to grant favors becomes overwhelming. [Italics in original]

So when politicians promise endless funding for abortions, or relief from student loan debt, or endless other “solutions” to poor behavior and decisions – they are roping us into willing servitude.

Make no mistake, the government is happy – delighted, in fact – to “fix” our problems, since it results in more power and control over us. As long as people insist on doing stupid things and then blaming others for their own stupidity, the government will take great delight in regulating our lives to the nth degree as an excuse to save us from ourselves.

When the government pays for our personal irresponsibility, it means it also has the right to dictate our behavior, forcibly if necessary, by regulating ALL of us for the sins of the few. It’s a long, nasty and tyrannical slippery slope on which we’ve embarked.

And all because stupid people want to blame someone else for their stupidity.

It used to be people knew the only ones to bail them out of their own idiocy were, in this order: themselves; their family; their friends; their church; or their community. When you ran out of those options, you ran out of help. Since people weren’t inclined to bail someone out multiple times, it was easier (and expected) to learn from one’s own idiocy and not repeat the mistakes.

Those folks truly in need of a safety net (the elderly, the disabled, etc.) are few compared to the vast majority of healthy able-bodied citizens who simply have forgotten (or never learned) that sometimes harsh lessons are the driver of what personal responsibility entails.

As I see it, many of our national woes could be solved if only the government would stop providing the money to save people from the consequences of their own actions. Personal responsibility and maturity includes the ability to predict whether an action, behavior, or decision will have negative consequences. Sure, you’re free to do stupid things. But since freedom comes with responsibility, it means you’re also obliged to accept and handle the repercussions of that stupid behavior. By yourself. Out of your own pocket.

The reason I’m so adamant about this is the time may come when the government no longer has the finances to fix peoples’ problems. What then? Those able and willing to help themselves will fare best. Those who won’t help themselves will be in for a rude awakening.

Life isn’t perfect, and it’s not the government’s purpose or function to make it perfect. If you’re in trouble because of something stupid you did, fix it yourself.

Learn how to achieve a simple lifestyle without “going green” or joining a monastery. Read Patrice Lewis’ helpful book, “The Simplicity Primer: 365 Ideas for Making Life more Livable”

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