See how I feel when you and Jambo beat me up for typos?
Your post, and countless others like it in the past, have often made me wonder what it was that caused Americans to allow themselves as a society to expect Government to fix all that ails them in their lives (and when, exactly, it happened), when for a very long period of time it was understood to be the individual that controlled his or her destiny/happiness.
The naive view would be to point at FDR and his "New Deal" and say THERE, that is when it happened... but I don't think that is entirely true or fair. I think a real and measurable appreciation for individual merit and ability existed well into the 1960's, with millions of children growing up with the sure and certain knowledge that they could be or do anything that they wanted in America, given the right determination and commitment.
I also feel that the "progressive" efforts Ryan details in his last post can be seen as far back as Teddy Roosevelt's Administration (even though he was President while still a Republican). He saw the Federal Government as a means to "fix" what was wrong with the country (his anti-monopoly efforts are a very good example of this) and the world (his "Big Stick" policy was more than simply beefing up the Navy).
We've had a few non-Progressive Presidents over the last 110 years... but only a very few. In my opinion, the only "real" conservatives to hold the office in the last 110 years were Coolidge, Hoover and Reagan. Now, before I hear Ryan start yelling, I know that most didn't call themselves "progressives"... but their actions and policies were. Ike, Nixon, Ford and Bush Jr. all make the grade here as "progressive" in their spending and expanded programs/government, in my opinion.
Is this drive to build and grow the "welfare" state a reaction to public demand (as FDR and Ike claimed) or is it an effort to "evolve" the government into a more caring and compassionate body (as LBJ, Carter and Clinton claimed) regardless of public opinion? If the former is true, then when did the call for more governmental control of the individual's life become the "norm"? If the latter is true, why is it still allowed to continue?
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1 comment:
You can PURSUE biting me.
And I am in full agreeance about the progressives of the last 110 years. TR was CERTAINLY one, with Wilson, FDR & Johnson as its biggest benefactors legislatively.
I'm paraphrasing Teddy, but the quote of his that always sent a shiver down my spine & a brow to raise was, "It be not enough for a man to make his fortune without harm to his fellow man. He must do so in a way that props up his neighbor", and this was followed by some pretty blatant big government threats against the private sector in that speech ... so far from yelling "at" you, I'm yelling with you.
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