The war on ourselves

As you may or may not know, America is at war. We have the War in Iraq, the War on Terror,… As you may or may not know, America is at war. We have the War in Iraq, the War on Terror, the War on Drugs, the War on Christmas, the War on Poverty and most recently, the War on the Middle Class. We are a very busy nation. Some people don’t fight in any of these “wars,” some try to fight in all of them and some go about their daily lives and don’t even know they are fighting. But there is one war that affects us all, a war against the very ideas that this wonderful country was founded upon. The war I speak of is the War on the Individual.

In a nutshell, the War on the Individual is any action taken by governments, corporations or other powerful bodies that seeks to undermine the power of the individual and promotes the need for human interdependence.

After the Patriots won the NFL Championship a few years ago Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., made the war official, “At a time when our entire country is banding together and facing down individualism, the Patriots set a wonderful example, showing us all what is possible when we work together, believe in each other and sacrifice for the greater good.” Granted, he was obviously playing politics by trying to tie himself to a very popular team at the height of their success to boost voter support for himself, but he made it clear: We are facing down individualism.

The War on the Individual is not a new war. This war has been fought many times before. In fact, this war was fought about 70 years ago in Germany. Adolf Hitler waged a war on the individual in his rise to power. Hitler was quoted in “Hitler: A Study in Tyranny” as saying, “The main plank of the National Socialist program is to abolish the liberalistic concept of the individual and the Marxist concept of humanity and to substitute for them the folk community, rooted in the soil and bound together by the bond of its common good.” Hitler led the charge then much the same as Kennedy is doing now. But why destroy the individual? Because an individual can accomplish great things. An individual can learn and gain knowledge, work hard, provide for his or her family, set a world record, create something new and be happy. If an individual can do all this by himself or herself, why does the individual need an all-powerful government?

Today’s Democrats think of people in terms of groups. If you can stomach to listen to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York or Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois speak for more than two minutes you will hear words like poor, underprivileged, minorities, children and wealthy. A person is not a person but a member of a group. This idea is vital for their agendas.

If liberal democrats like Clinton or Kennedy acknowledge that you are an individual, they must acknowledge that you have individual’s rights. And oh how they hate those. As an individual you would have property rights. But would this right supersede the government’s right to your property? There was a movement recently by pro-big government liberals to allow governments to use eminent domain to seize private property and turn it over to developers so the government can make more tax revenue. That is, taking away private property for the “greater good.” This idea was quickly curbed with many states making it a voter referendum. In every state to put this on the ballot, voters choose to disallow such a practice reclaiming their individual’s rights.

In a public high school in Massachusetts the yearly honor roll is no longer published in the local paper. The reason being that the students who are not on the list will feel bad and, according to the principle, places “an unhealthy focus on grades.” What a load of BS. No longer can we honor the individual hard work of students because it is detrimental to other students? If no one is ever compensated or singled out for their achievements, what incentive do they have to work hard?

In 1993 Clinton declared, “We must stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for society.” The last time I checked, society was made up of individuals. It has always been an individual’s quest for knowledge, pride, money and power that has propelled innovation in society. Government handouts to low income earners only keep them there, dependent on Uncle Sam. Skills, hope and work ethic get them out of poverty for good. America has seen more people go from poverty to prosperity than any other country. It has done this by forcing individuals to succeed or and protecting individual rights. The left would love to take away your individuality, assign you a group, and make you dependent on them, but we cannot let them. I am proud of who I am and what I’ve accomplished; you should be too. Remember, it’s the clothes that make the man; it’s the people who make the government and not the other way around.

I’m fighting this war. Are you? Email Joe at jjm43@pitt.edu