Alexis De Tocqueville stated in his observances of America, that we have developed a tyranny of “soft despotism”, “an oversolicitous nanny state that debilitates its citizens just as thoroughly, but by coddling them instead of coercing them.” The more I come to understand about the state, the more I see how the state whispers sweet incantations, woes us to sleep in its arms, claiming it can solve our problems. We hand over more and more power and slowly, we, individuals have no hand in our democracy anymore. It is scary when you look back at history, at all the attempts at a utopian society including Hitler, Stalin and Mao; which is all based on one conclusion: Humans are naturally good. These ideas were first introduced by Jean Jacques Rousseau, who declared that humans are good, however, we are corrupted but society. It is these duties and responsibilities that are holding us back from our full potential. In this, the state has become our hero: liberate us from these social conventions because they limit our freedom. The war cry of the individuals of America has drowned out the sensibilities and heart of community.
In these philosophies, our country has taken its place in relinquishing us from our duties and commitments. You don’t have to stay married, you don’t have to have the baby that you made, you don’t have to raise your kids, you don’t have to care about anyone’s problems but your own. And in return the state will grant you your rights as citizens and entitlement to welfare. In doing this, the state is just reinforcing the behavior, no one has to change. It’s sad, because when you disconnect from these commitments, you become an island and are free to fulfill any desire you wish. For some reason, that is believed to be freeing, to allow your immediate gratifications run wild, so how come it always ends in slavery, to addictions, to prison, whatever. If freeing ourselves is enabling us to become our full selves, according our philosophy we should be thriving.
Unknowingly, we paint ourselves into a corner. As the state plays hero, we become dependent on the it. More and more power is given, and more and more power is lost. We now depend on the government to take care of the environment, instead taking up the call to care for the earth. The government teaches are kids, not the parents. The government, is suppose to be responsible for keeping everyone healthy. The government is suppose to take care of me when I have no job or when I am to old to work. As we have looked for them for these things, the support of the community has disappeared, and the government is all you have left, allowing them to pull some mighty tight strings.
It is frustrating to me, because I feel there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. I am one voice, a murmur in the sea of “the faceless majority”. There is no face to my enemy, there is no direction to fight back in. What can a young person do to stop this snowball effect?
