Chipping Away At Freedom
By Peter and Helen Evans (02/20/03)
America was founded on the "self-evident truth" of our right of individual freedom and our government was instituted to secure that right. The Declaration of Independence was a turning point for civilization; an act which got rid of our colonial oppressor and also represented the opportunity to get rid of our individual oppressions by taking responsibility for our own lives. Yet, today, there is an insidious movement in the opposite direction that is chipping away at our freedom by appealing to our lazy nature.
It used to be that challenging conditions such as low self-esteem, lack of self-discipline, being un-skilled, the possibility of injury from playing a game, someone calling you a bad name or disapproving of your lifestyle, etc. were viewed as opportunities for learning and building character. Not anymore. Instead, they are now being called "diseases" or being blamed on that nebulous scapegoat, "society." In our lazy attempt to dodge the responsibility for improving our own circumstances or standing up for our own ideals we are embracing more and more excuses. Inevitably, however, the more excuses we accept for our condition, the more we chip away at our freedom to actually do anything about it.
Have you noticed how many new "diseases" are being discovered nowadays? Take, for example, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Now, there are children who truly need help with organic and psychological problems, and they should get it. Increasingly, however, the ADD label is being pasted onto children, and we've met some, who are simply "not interested" in paying attention at school or who just "don't like" being told what to do. When such children are "diagnosed" with this "disease" they and, significantly, their parents, are encouraged to believe that "their genes made them do it." Their responsibility in dealing with their own problem is, thus, reduced from a psychologically and morally beneficial attempt at self-control to the mundane, menial task of taking their pills on time.
This trend, which we might call "materialistic determinism," can be seen as an offshoot of our increasingly un-questioning faith in the physical sciences and their lab-coated priesthood. To be fair, no sane person would willingly forgo the many benefits of the recent, spectacular advances in medicine and technology. But we can reasonably view the impact of mapping the human genome, for example, as a mixed blessing. "A Good Thing," in that a whole range of practical benefits will result, but a "bad thing," in that it will inevitably encourage the general population in the mistaken belief that every undesirable human idiosyncrasy is somehow genetically determined and, thus, "not my fault."
However, increasingly subtle "diseases" are not the only symptom of the "I'm not responsible" attitude. We have recently been treated to the media spectacle of lawsuits against corporations brought by plaintiffs (and, of course, their lawyers) who seek enormous financial compensation for what should more accurately, but uncomfortably, be identified as ignorance of the obvious, over-indulgence, plain stupidity or any combination thereof. The recent case of the "victims" of fast-food-induced obesity comes to mind. We seem to be demanding (from someone else, of course) to be given a risk-free life where we have no responsibility for thinking about anything anymore. In less morally lax times, the excuse, "the devil made me do it," was sometimes admitted as plausible. Those days are gone and now we hear, "the product made me do it."
On a more personal note, I, Helen, just had a MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan done on my painfully injured knee. The procedure involves being strapped immobile onto a 'bed' and rolled into a small hole in a big machine decorated with signs warning of the "Strong Magnetic Field." This intimidating technological presence, a cold draft and a loud noise that I usually associate with a big truck when it is backing up all combined to make it a frightening experience for me. So, I decided to get some books from the library to research it. As I was doing this, I realized that in the back of my mind, even though I didn't want to admit it, I was hoping that "I might find a rational explanation (translation: 'excuse') for my fear." I realized I also felt better when I recalled that the MRI patient before me had had the same fearful experience. These rationalizations and group mentality justifications are the very thing that could allow me to give away my freedom, in this case, freedom from fear. So instead, as I do my research, I am looking for reasons to counteract my fear, rather than trying to justify it.
We should use our obstacles and challenges as character-building opportunities rather than pandering to our lazy reluctance to face them squarely. The societal consequences of a failure to take responsibility for our own lives will be the ascendance to power of the self-anointed who will cheerfully take on our responsibilities, but only in exchange for our freedoms. This would surely result in more and more government micro-management and intervention in our daily affairs. Personal liberty inescapably means personal risk and personal responsibility.
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