GenSeneca
Well-Known Member
I miss having a Blog on the forum... That's where I used to post articles such as this:
Of course, Obama and all those on the left who tout “togetherness” would object to that characterization. What they mean to evoke is an image of millions of individuals freely pursuing their independent goals and dreams, but pitching in every once in a while to help a friend or neighbor.
But the problem is, that’s not collectivism—that’s individualism. That’s what happens when the government leaves people free, protects their rights, and instead of robbing Peter to pay Paul, respects your right to keep what you earn.
The political difference between individualism and collectivism is not between helping others or not helping them. It’s that, in an individualist society, nobody can force others to help. If you want to help, that’s up to you: it’s selective, voluntary, and need not involve sacrifice.
Not so in the “in this together” society advocated by the left. “We’re all in this together” really means that the government will seize as much of your money as it wants and give it to whomever it wants. And you? Well, we’re all in this together, right? So when they tell you to jump, you can only say, “How high?”
But even deeper than the political point is the vision of life embedded in the “We’re all in this together” mantra. It is an egalitarian notion that puts everyone in the same moral category—the best of people and the worst—in order to remind the best that there’s a price to pay for wanting to pursue your own vision of life.
When I hear the phrase “We’re all in this together” I think back to high school. Were the straight-A students “in this together” with the stoners who cut class? Were the band students “in this together” with the jocks who beat them up? Was the teenage Woz “in this together” with the rabble who spent their nights partying while he spent his nights designing computers in his bedroom?
October 11, 2012by Don Watkins
“We’re all in this together” President Obama has told us over and over. It’s not a bad way to summarize a bad ideology. Because that phrase, although innocuous, is really just a euphemism for collectivism. I haven’t conducted any studies, but I’ll wager that “We’re all in this together” would poll better than “Society owns you.”Of course, Obama and all those on the left who tout “togetherness” would object to that characterization. What they mean to evoke is an image of millions of individuals freely pursuing their independent goals and dreams, but pitching in every once in a while to help a friend or neighbor.
But the problem is, that’s not collectivism—that’s individualism. That’s what happens when the government leaves people free, protects their rights, and instead of robbing Peter to pay Paul, respects your right to keep what you earn.
The political difference between individualism and collectivism is not between helping others or not helping them. It’s that, in an individualist society, nobody can force others to help. If you want to help, that’s up to you: it’s selective, voluntary, and need not involve sacrifice.
Not so in the “in this together” society advocated by the left. “We’re all in this together” really means that the government will seize as much of your money as it wants and give it to whomever it wants. And you? Well, we’re all in this together, right? So when they tell you to jump, you can only say, “How high?”
But even deeper than the political point is the vision of life embedded in the “We’re all in this together” mantra. It is an egalitarian notion that puts everyone in the same moral category—the best of people and the worst—in order to remind the best that there’s a price to pay for wanting to pursue your own vision of life.
When I hear the phrase “We’re all in this together” I think back to high school. Were the straight-A students “in this together” with the stoners who cut class? Were the band students “in this together” with the jocks who beat them up? Was the teenage Woz “in this together” with the rabble who spent their nights partying while he spent his nights designing computers in his bedroom?
We are not “all in this together.” Your life belongs to you—and you should decide with whom and in what way to share it with others.
