America's Greatest Moral Dilemma?

Looking around at our nation, it seems as though the country we once viewed as the “land of the free and the home of the brave” is slowly slipping away to a dusty corner of our mind, forgotten as the terrors from the war in the Middle East and national domestic violence are seeping into communities and turning fellow Americans from caring neighbors to adversaries. We are being blinded and coerced into thinking that we need someone to protect us, that we need someone to support us, and that we, the people of the United States of America, need a Big Brother.

When did we begin to forget that we are individuals with the right and directive to care for our own needs first over the needs of others? Why has America lapsed into an economic and political "hand-out" state? Perhaps the greatest moral dilemma facing America today is a lack of responsibility for our own individual needs, wants, goals, lifestyles, and choices. The people of America have been told that it is acceptable to act entitled to healthcare, education, and financial assistance. Thomas Jefferson said, “Most virtues when carried beyond certain bounds degenerate into vices." It may seem virtuous to join together and build a community based upon individual needs and abilities, but our money, taken at the hand of the government through taxation and dispersed among our neighbors, is not given voluntary. It cannot be called charity, but theft. 

In the new administration under President Barack Obama, we are told that to be responsible citizens, we must care for our neighbor, and share our hard earned money with those that need assistance. Regardless of our neighbor’s own attempts at succeeding, we are told to put his welfare above our own. As ‘stronger’ members of society we are told to help the ‘weaker’ members. Ron Paul states, “We must remember that initiating force to impose our will on others negates all goodness for which we profess to stand.” It is good for a citizen to help a neighbor in tough times, but it should never be forced. When the people are told that they are entitled to benefits from the government regardless of their monetary input into the system, they become lazy and unproductive waiting patiently with greedy hands for more money they have not earned. As free handouts are being rushed into our social system, responsibility is slipping out the back door. And now, no matter how hard we try, we will find it very difficult to reclaim the individuality and responsibility that made America a nation that was truly free.

What we as a nation should strive for is a nation founded upon the concept of self-government and the acknowledgment of responsibility once again. A nation where, “Each person is free to chart his own life’s course, choosing which risks to brave and which to avoid. Each person is responsible only for himself, for his family, and for those whom he—of his own volition—chooses to care for. Each person has a claim to the fruits only of his own labor and sacrifices, and no claim to the fruits of another’s labor and sacrifices. Each person has a legal right to do as he wills so long as he respects the equal rights of others and honors all his commitments” (www.thefreemanonline.org). 

In closing, to solve the apathy that has been sweeping the nation for the past fifty years, national pride needs to be asserted once again into the American citizens daily life. We need a pride in our liberty, in our responsibility, in our individuality, and in our freedoms. The freedoms gain we when we release ourselves from the chains of the Big Brother.