In the movie musical, “1776,” about the signing of the
Declaration of Independence, there is an exchange between John Dickenson,
delegate from Pennsylvania and John Hancock, of Massachusetts, President of the
Congress.
In that exchange, John Hancock tells John Dickinson,
"Fortunately there are not enough men of property in America to dictate
policy," and Dickinson replies, "Perhaps not. But don't forget that most men without property would rather protect
the possibility of becoming rich, than face the reality of being poor."
I think that the
vast majority of American behavior today can be explained that way.
Americans see
ownership and possession and even citizenship as a zero-sum game. In order for me to succeed, there must be
others who fail. This pervades into
every aspect of our social interactions today.
Americans once perceived the collective and cooperative. We saw it in family, in community and neighborhoods, in state and national concerns and considerations. It was a natural and a comfortable perspective. The concept of sharing permitted us to act in a non-zero-sum manner. We could look to the collaborative betterment of our various societies, whether they be local or broad.
Americans once perceived the collective and cooperative. We saw it in family, in community and neighborhoods, in state and national concerns and considerations. It was a natural and a comfortable perspective. The concept of sharing permitted us to act in a non-zero-sum manner. We could look to the collaborative betterment of our various societies, whether they be local or broad.
We saw our part in
our various constituent communities in the second person plural or the third
person. We… Us… Ours… You…
We now see ourselves
in the first person singular. I… Me…
Mine…
And in that shift in
perspective, we have lost our American and our most decent human identity.
Consider one very
simple example. At one time in our
history, if a child misbehaved in school, that child would also face sanction
at home. The larger part of that
sanction would have arisen from an acknowledgement of social contract
morality. Children behave at school and
contribute and participate with order, so that ALL children can participate and
learn.
Today, that concept
of social contract seems outdated and instead of home sanctions imposed on the
misbehaving child, the response would be something like, “How dare that school
suggest that I haven’t done an adequate job at parenting?”
Americans no longer figuratively
hold the door for our friends and neighbors.
And we certainly don’t hold the door for total strangers.
And we no longer
pretend to be Christian in anything other than name.
And we choose to
win, or to retain our chance to win, rather than to cooperate, collaborate or
share.
We feather our own nest
and assume that it’s OK for us to succeed, while assuming that someone else
must fail if we do.
And it will be our
undoing. If it hasn’t already set that
course of events in motion.
“…don't forget that
most men without property would rather protect the possibility of becoming
rich, than face the reality of being poor."
As we look after
ourselves, we lose the strength, dignity, and decency of a powerful people.
