Can Americans Remember the Virtue of Independence (and the Corrosiveness of Dependence)? - Intellectual Takeout

Can Americans Remember the Virtue of Independence (and the Corrosiveness of Dependence)? - Intellectual Takeout

"If this 4th of July you reflect on the future of liberty, you will not be alone. 

Many Americans believe freedom is in decline. 

...Breggin imagines “a world made up of two different people with very different and conflicting ideas about themselves and their basic rights.” 

To one type of person Breggin gives the name Dependence and to the other, Independence. 

Describing Dependence, he writes, 

• “Dependence doesn’t think he can earn enough money to pay for what he needs and wants, such as food, shelter, medical care, education, and retirement. He wants the government to provide these things for him.” Dependence thinks life is unfair, and he wants government to “make up for this unfairness.” Dependence thinks he has a “right” to the “good life.”

On the other hand, Breggin explains, 

• Independence wants government “to protect his freedom to take care of himself.” Independence is “up to the challenge” of providing for himself and his loved ones. Breggin writes, “He believes that he has a right to take responsibility for himself and to keep most of his earnings for himself and his family.”...