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The New 'American Dream' Enslaves

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DOMENICK J. MAGLIO

Neo Traditionalist

Published: February 27, 2009

Many young, naïve and politically re-educated youth, struggling poor and the over indulged credit abusers believe they are entitled to an upgraded lifestyle.

The provider of their dreams is government. The responsibility for health care, education, homes and even money for gas is expected to be furnished by an all-encompassing government.

"The new American Dream of wanting it and government will provide it" is much more attractive than the older version. This notion of government doing the people's heavy lifting is more seductive although less realistic than the original American Dream of personal responsibility for one's own success.

We are forgetting that government did not generate the wealth that the political scoundrels want to redistribute to win re-election. It is citizens' hard work to move up the economic ladder that has made America wealthy. In our short history, the most effective government practice has been to get out of the way of citizens' freedom to be innovative and productive.

The traditional American Dream was that you could be anything you chose as long as you were willing to work for it. This dream was supported by limiting government, not expanding it. The checks and balances to restrain the natural tendency of big government to repress the people have given us the freedom to be successful.

America has reached levels of wealth that no other country throughout the ages has obtained. The average citizens have lifestyles that in the past were seen only by the richest segment of a society. Even our poorest citizens are living a material existence that is superior to the average people of many other nations.

The people who are industrious and productive are the backbone of capitalism. These productive people are the first to be targeted in the transition to socialism. These independent and self-reliant people usually have accumulated wealth, which is taken from them to be redistributed in order to buy the allegiance of less motivated citizens. This process kills the incentive of the doers, leaving behind the dependency of the takers.

Socialism enslaves everyone in the society except the politically connected elite. The elites talk of "sacrifice for the common good" while they splurge and sock away their wealth. Politicians of both parties are willing to wreck our Constitution to ensure their personal power.

When the people work for the government instead of the government doing the people's business, freedom quickly fades. Government can only grow by taking money from citizens. It can accomplish this through greater taxation or devaluating people's wealth by printing more money. Without increasing productivity or backing the money with gold or silver, inflated worthless money is created.

The revolving door between government, corporations and the media is incestuous and disgraceful. It is about solidifying power through who you know, not what you know. Unprincipled and self-serving politicians and corporate elite join forces supported by the majority of the media and out of-touch intellectual idealists to push the nation in a radical direction. These elites move away from time tested pragmatic policies toward experimental schemes to pretend to the people they will reach unattainable promises.

At each and every point of accountability on the road to socialism there are excuses. They blame and ridicule any reluctant leaders or segments of society for not making the necessary sacrifices. The disenfranchising of large chunks of the society is followed by another series of impractical experiments that fail.

The continual mantra of hope, promises and change turns to disillusion, resentment and finally fatalism. The citizen's acceptance of the lack of social mobility by their own efforts leaves them with little motivation to be anything other than pathetic takers.

Politicians leading people to believe their unrealistic hopes and desires will be fulfilled by the government is not compassionate. It is mean and destructive. Eventually, when aspirations are unfulfilled, the people become dispirited. The worst consequence of lying to and appeasing voters in gaining their loyalty is not resentment and anger. It is the ultimate resignation to a drab existence with no vision of what could be.

Socialism, whether European Democratic Socialism, a gradual strangulation of personal responsibility and incentives or more dictatorial socialism from the top down, enslaves everyone except the elite.

Replacing the original realistic American Dream with socialistic jargon, which has always failed, will end the civilization our forefathers envisioned, fought and died for. We can prevent the crumbling of America by rejecting and ridiculing ideas that we know will never work.

By becoming more aware and discerning voters, we can preserve America's greatness.

Dr. Domenick J. Maglio, Ph.D., is the author of "Invasion Within" and "Essential Parenting." He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School. Visit: www.drmaglio.com. Dr. Domenick J. Maglio, Ph.D., is the author of "Invasion Within

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