Many of us are so taken in by a partisan way of framing the way we think that we have become unrealistic about the role of government and about who and where we are as a country. We are not living a world that looks like it did 250 years ago. We're not a nation of a few million people getting around on foot and by horseback, and we're no longer satisfied with mud streets, reading by candlelight and hand-pumping water from a well.
'Getting away from it all' sounds pleasant and idealistic which is amusing considering most of us have our cell phones and other devices with us constantly and if the electricity goes out for longer than a few days civilization grinds to a halt.
As much as some of us admire the libertarian way of thinking or claim that we're members of a party which promotes 'small government,' we have moved fully into a society which relies on what the government at local, state and federal levels can provide for us that we cannot provide for ourselves as effectively or efficiently. Call it what you will, but we collectively started working together as members of a civilized society many decades ago and if we don't continue to work together, things will start crumbling. Maybe the outcome would be best, in the long run, but at least consider what we have come to expect:
- We want solid, functioning and well-maintained highways, bridges and infrastructure. We want county roads with no potholes.
- We want effective and well-equipped law enforcement officers and emergency personnel who are at our beck and call.
- We want a justice system in which crimes are solved quickly and those who are a danger to persons and property are locked up.
- We want our mail delivered to our front door six days a week.
- We want a strong military to defend us and national guardsmen for emergencies.
- We claim that we want all children, veterans, those with disabilities, the homeless and the elderly to be safely housed and well cared for.
- We want to breathe clean air, drink fresh unpolluted water and eat food which is not going to make us sick or kill us.
- We enjoy our national and state parks and monuments and want them maintained.
- We want the fastest Internet and the most reliable power grid and cell phone service possible.
- We want to be free of disease and discomfort and to have the best and least expensive health care in the world.
- We want an outstanding system of public education.
- We want innovation.
- Many -- within every socioeconomic level -- want and get subsidies, tax credits and government grants for projects.
The list goes on.
In short, we want it all. We want to live long and prosper, so we make demands. We want safety and freedom. We want convenience and leisure. We want city council to make sure our neighbor mows his yard. We want a strong economy and jobs that pay more than a bare minimum living wage. Many of us don't want regulations. We complain when we don't get everything fast and in the exact manner we believe we should.
And apparently, especially within the past few years, we have come to expect that nobody should pay for any of it, individually, corporately or as a state or a country. At the very least we want everything at a rock-bottom bargain price. How does this make sense? How does it work? I really am open for suggestions because it sounds like utopia to me.
Ideally, many of these things can and would be taken care of within communities, and I'm a real fan of that notion, but it will take some work getting back to that, and realistically, some things cannot be accomplished at only a local level.
A country populated with less than 3 million people can function in a different, simpler way than a country of over 300 million. Politics has divided us and clouded our thinking in this regard. We have definitely gone overboard in many areas with bloated government, and the pendulum needs to swing back to a more reasonable way of doing things. But if all we're willing to do is throw tantrums when things don't go our way, if we want to continually blame someone else for our woes without taking responsibility for ourselves and those who are less fortunate, if we're not willing to step up and help figure out a more balanced way going forward....well, simpler times will be forced upon us, and I don't think many of us will enjoy it as much as we claim we would.
