I have oft followed the sweet call of play to the exclusion of my labors. It has mesmerized me in many ways & I am only now beginning to realize the effects of such a path. Many people these days in the United States are decrying what they call socialism, while others scoff at those the “sky is falling” crowd. But have those others not read from the chilling pages of George Orwell’s Animal Farm? And have they not seen the nature of man when he is given power of his fellow man written throughout the pages of history?

A couple months back I was researching with a friend the history of social programs in the United States and we came across a man by the name of Herbert David Croly who wrote a book called The Promise of American Life in which he asserts something akin what may have been said in a time before we came to earth ((http://lds.org/scriptures/pgp/moses/4.1-3?lang=eng)). In his book Croly “lays out a plan to regain a political and economic balance through strong federal regulations and social programs. He argues that only programs administered by the federal government can truly help pave the way for America to fulfill the promise of a positive and fair democracy for the greatest number of citizens.” ((http://www.enotes.com/promise-american, The Promise of American Life by Herbert David Croly @ Project Gutenberg))

This is where Theodore Roosevelt’s New Nationalism came from as well as Franklin Roosevelt (FDR)’s “Second Bill of Rights” as expressed in the video here:

This reminds me of a little cartoon about a grasshopper I saw as a kid. It did not really sink in, because of course I was the grasshopper in the summertime, invincible & impervious to the cold of winter. The video was A Walt Disney Silly Symphony called The Grasshopper and the Ants seen here:

The more I live, the more I see that my choices now DO affect me LATER. You think that would be self evident, but for some reason it’s not. And when we are sheltered from the consequences of our actions it’s extremely difficult to learn this and we indeed find fitting an entitlement mentality as we sing gladly, “Oh, the world owes me a living!”

I saw a recent example of this during the recent 2011 State of the Union Address by President Obama ((http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZdEmjtF6HE)). I was keeping my eye on questions that were coming in via YouTube and I was surprised to see a pattern in some of the questions. It went something like this. “Mr. President, I want to go to college, what are you going to do for me?” or “Pres. Obama, I need a job, what are you going to do for me?” Repeat & replace college and job concerns with your own need. Now, I am not by any means suggesting that we are not going through hard times, we are. But as Ezra Taft Benson said in his book An Enemy Hath Done This in reference to our putting off of financial discipline,

“We have been feeling the exhilarating effects of inflation and have become numbed to the gradual dissipation of our gold reserves. In our economic stupor, when we manage to think ahead about the coming hangover, we have merely taken another swig from the bottle to reinforce the artificial sensation of prosperity. But each new drink at the cup of inflation, and each new drain on the gold supply of our bodily strength does not prevent the dreaded hangover, it merely postpones it a little longer and will make it that much worse when it finally comes. What should we do? We should get a hold on ourselves, come to our senses, stop adding to our intoxication, and face the music! (An Enemy Hath Done This, p. 218.)”

Perhaps the great phrase of John F. Kennedy needs be remembered by us all, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” And I’d broaden that out to include all men.

I am understanding more clearly these days that I really cannot lay claim to the work of another man’s hand save he gives it to me of his own free will, without manipulation, without coercion, without force. It’s much simpler to see this principle play out interpersonally, but in the abstraction of government it’s almost easy to forget just where the money we receive comes from and just what responsibility to pay for that we’re passing along to another.

In the final estimation, it seems that the old Google motto “do no evil” sums it all up quite nicely.