Starting Them Young… On Government Dependence?

Remember the statement, “If a government is big enough to give you everything you want, it’s big enough to take away everything you have”? We live in an American society where our individual rights are at stake, and the people’s dependence on their own government is largely to blame.

It’s boldly obvious that we live in a society where people are dependent on the government. Take a look around – look at the number of people on government assistance programs and those begging for more programs like universal healthcare or universal preschool.

It’s as though Americans are enslaved by the idea that the government can and should supply all our needs. And the government only perpetuates this misconception when they refuse to reform the food stamp program or force Obamacare on us when the majority of Americans don’t even want it…

Seeping Into Our Education System

The last place these faulty ideas (especially those with hidden political agendas) ought to be found is in the classroom. However, an elementary school in Skokie, Illinois decided to teach fourth graders that the “government is like a nation’s family.”
The “What Is Government?” worksheet describes government as “all of the agencies, departments, organizations, groups, individuals in a nation who make, carry out, enforce, and manage conflicts about rules and laws.” So, we might agree that this isn’t such a terrible description for our children. But then the description becomes increasingly problematic…

It goes on to say, “Government is like a nation’s family. Families take care of children and make sure they are safe, healthy and educated, and free to enjoy life. Families encourage children to be independent hardworking and responsible. Families make and enforce rules and give appropriate punishments when rules are broken. Government does these things for its citizens, too.”

Frankly, I find this assignment alarming. Now, I understand that it could be construed as a reasonable way to explain a very complex system in a way that makes it understandable by a young audience (elementary aged kids) – and that is part of the problem with it. The fact that they’re likening the government to a family to this very vulnerable, malleable and trusting demographic is something we must closely scrutinize. At this age, these children are totally dependent on their families, their parents, or other authority figures. And this move only perpetuates the mentality that your government is who you rely on to make all your life decisions, consequently stripping independence as the go-to mentality. It’s bad enough to have a large number of citizens expecting the government to take care of them as if they’re children and it’s their parent. But now our children – the very future of this country – are being issued an okay for this mindset.

Politicians Fueling the Fire

President Ronald Reagan, like the Founding Fathers, told us that the government’s purpose is to protect the people and their rights but “where the government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.” The thought that the government is responsible for our welfare is ludicrous, to speak candidly.

Many politicians currently in office were elected because of the notion that the government exists to take care of us. During the last presidential election, a friend told me that she didn’t agree with President Obama on most things, but that she planned to vote for him because of “what he can do for my family.” It wasn’t because of good policy, political experience, or even for sharing personal convictions.

But what might not have been as blatantly obvious was the reality that the government isn’t going to give you something without taking something in return. It’s a give-and-take relationship, through and through. Welcome to big government, folks.

In pursuit of the truth,

Johnnie-Ann Campbell

Source: CapitolHillDaily