The Rugged Individualist

It is interesting how myths have such a hold on Americans. Ken Murray’s recent opinion piece contains many myths, but since he writes for a nice conservative paper, who limits rebuttals; I will list but a few in my restricted space:

1. “Universal Health Insurance infringes on personal responsibility.” The United States is the ONLY industrialized nation in the world to not have a universal health care system. This has lead to a “system” that rations care between the rich and the poor; destroying families through bankrupcies and ruining lives. Rich people benefit, the rest of us are left to hope nothing happens. We are free to have our lives ruined by illness or injury. That is responsibility?

2. “The Constitution set up limited government, families took care of fellow rugged individualists.” Let’s not forget a brutal slavery system that built an economy that dramatically helped the new nation develop. Let’s not forget an Army who “civilized” the West, by killing Native American families so “rugged individuals” could have free farms. Without the U.S. Government, no gold rush, no Manifest Destiny. Rugged individualists had a big ally: the U.S. Cavalry.

3. “Self-reliance and limited government caused America to flourish.” Has anyone read the Articles of Confederation and how this “experiment” in “limited” government almost got the U.S. back into the British Empire? The truth is government and cooperation have always assisted Americans (except people of color) to realize the American Dream. How could someone declare themselves solely responsible for success when they acquired their land from the Government, developed it with Government aid, and were protected by government troops who stole it?

4. “Rugged individualism is why the nation prospered and represents a sane relationship with the government.” We live in a nation of over 300 million people. We depend on highways, the internet, electricity, email; etc., to acquire our prosperity (which is narrowing to an aristocratic few). Cooperation and collaberation are how we prosper, and how we prospered in the past. The truth is when individualist GREED dominiates our economy, it has led to slavery, and later recession and depression (witness recent history). Teamwork and cooperation lead to success, not selfishness. Greed is not good.

Mr. Murray and other conservatives repeat the above myths incessantly. The problem is they have no foundation in American history or present reality. They are myths propagated by people who really do not trust a diverse democracy but who hope for a day when the “fittest” can again “take their country back”, and we know who they are talking about.