Posted by
Gray Cat on Saturday, June 28, 2008 12:11:00 PM
I read an article yesterday from a college professor who used to be a libertarian and has now "matured" (his words) beyond that philosophy. It struck me as ironic because I've always found liberalism, not libertarianism, to be more of an immature political belief, and in fact it seems much more common for a young, wide-eyed liberal idealist to moderate and eventually become conservative as they leave academia and start earning real money, starting a family, paying taxes, and basically joining the real world. But the thing that really strikes me as immature about liberalism is the need for constant government hand-holding through life. The desire for cradle-to-grave dependence on government. That, to me, is a sign of immaturity, a sign of not wanting to grow up and face the challenges of adulthood.
Apparently there was a time (not that I would remember) when people referred to the government as "Uncle Sam" and God as "Father". We relied on God, our families, and our own hard work to fulfill our needs. Government was there to perform some basic duties and keep things running smoothly, but basically just existed in the background. We've kind of reversed that now, haven't we... liberals want government to fill more of a parenting role by taking care of our needs and protecting us from ourselves, while God is kind of like the distant uncle we see on a few holidays but basically has no place in our daily lives. That's the problem... by distancing ourselves from God and allowing our family structure to weaken, we realize that we have no one left to depend on when we can't do it alone. So naturally, we turn to the only thing left that has the power to help: government.
But that's a dangerous and slippery road to go down if, like me, you care about freedom. The more government tries to "help", the more freedoms we have to give up. You want government to save for your retirement? Fine. Then they get to decide when you retire and how much income you have during retirment. Want government to provider your health care? Fine. Then don't complain when they say you can't eat that hamburger or smoke that cigarette. Want government to take over the oil companies and provide energy for everyone? Fine. Then expect them to ration your gasoline and control your thermostat remotely.
Conservatives often get a bad rap for a "go it alone" mentality and not caring about others. I don't think that's true at all. I just believe God and families should be the first lines of support, not government. We can have government be there for those who truly can't support themselves and don't have any other options, but that should be the exception, not the rule. Don't confuse liberalism with charity. Charity is being generous with your own resources, and is admirable. Liberalism is being generous with other people's resources, and is a threat to freedom.