As humans, we most often seek the least arduous path to an outcome. We eschew difficulty at every turn despite the increased rewards that result sometimes from challenge. We are increasingly aided in this fault of human traits by our government. They know candy sells much better than liver and they continue to shove bundles of it in front of us. The soon to be $1,900,000,000,000 pile of cash being laid out on our table is just the latest purchase of our fealty to those who supposedly, care for us.
If I was to put the following questions in front of most Americans, I wonder what the “poll” would tell us?
Is the family unit desirable? Do you want to marry someone? Would you like to stay married to that person for life? Would you like to have children? Would you like for your spouse, preferably the woman, to stay at home and raise those children? Would you like to live in a safe neighborhood where your children can walk to school? Would you like a home whose total costs allows you to take a week’s vacation to a special place? Is access to affordable, healthy and safe food important to you? Would you like to be able to eat in a restaurant once a week? Would you like to have clothes for every occasion? Would you like a vehicle that provides dependable transportation? Would you like to know that if you had a catastrophic illness, your health care would be provided at a subsidized rate that would not bankrupt you?
What if after answering these questions we then went on to ask?
Should the government provide income for single parent households based on the number of children they have? Food? Health care? Transportation? Should they encourage more children by providing tax credits/transfer payments for each child? Child care? Should the government (federal, state and local) be singularly focused on first and before any other issue, making our neighborhoods safe? Should tax dollars that could go to promoting families, safety, health and wellness of Americans be spent on non-citizens? Foreign countries that are not viewed as allies? Maintaining US armed forces in conflict arenas throughout the world? Should the government take more than is needed for safety, from your income to pay for these programs?
I would like to see the results of the poll because I believe that most people would give up some of this materialistic rat race for a “Harriet and Ozzie” lifestyle. One where Dad works and makes and keeps enough to have a home, a car, a retirement plan, enough cash on hand to weather an emergency and allows Mom to stay at home making sure the kids are well adjusted and homestead is functioning. It may not be as big a home or a Cadillac in the driveway, but a cohesive family unit that is the underpinnings of a virtuous society would be the reward in and of itself.
Put your spin on this but we’ve allowed our humanness to be perverted through appeals to our vanity and overwhelming societal pressure to get more and more and more….to our detriment.
Current Day Publius 