The National Mindset

Sometimes
sentiments are contagious. A sense of panic among a few key people can thrust
an entire community or nation into hyperventilation. An overwhelming sense of
happiness and goodwill can infect hordes of people….look at how our generous
spirits and senses of well-being are lifted during the Christmas season. Ann
Coulter’s latest book, Demonic,
explores the mob mentality that frequently prevails in certain high-tension
situations. While pursuing PhD. Studies, my cognate or minor was in Social
Psychology….a discipline for the study of social influence, social perception
and social interaction. A brief summary of the field is that we humans are
highly susceptible to the influence of others and often embrace a mob-like
mentality when confronted by an undefined perceived threat.

Not all
social contagions produce panic or hysteria. Some may lead to an overwhelming
sense of futility and fatalism. Others may induce violent actions and
unprovoked attacks on potential threats or presumed outliers. There are types
of mass reactions that produce paralyzing fear. Mass cowardice is an element of
fear paralysis. Risk-taking is assumed to be an unworthy enterprise because
whatever reward may ensue does not return reasonable benefits. In my view the people
of the United States are entrapped in a national mindset of cowardice. From our
civil and civic leaders to our lowliest citizen we have calculated that high
risk yields small rewards and is not worth the investment of time, talent,
resources or reputation.

We have
become a nation of cowards. We look to government to pay for our staples,
subsidize our businesses, feed our children at school, and protect us from all
imaginable harm in the universe. If we wish to explore a new avenue of
learning, we seek a government grant. If we wish to enhance our education or
start a business, we apply for a government loan. We insist that government
license people who provide the most basic services so that we will not suffer
the humiliation of “orange hair” or frizzy ends. Licensing is a form of risk
management that limits the practitioners in certain fields, but many folks get
their hair cut at home…so how long until government protects us from an overzealous
Mother or Father wielding clippers and scissors? When government regulations or
licensing make no sense, we comply without complaint. Think about it. Why
should government license the clergy? Why should government intervene in a
contract between God and an individual….or between a congregation and its
chosen spiritual leader?

Our
political leaders are blatantly cowardly….afraid to tackle pressing issues and
problems head on for fear of antagonizing voters. They have wasted countless
lives and an immense amount of our tax money by their unwillingness to take a
stand and declare war when we are violently engaged. Our fearful citizenry
continues to let the career political miscreants off the hook by reelecting a
high percentage of them and failing to hold them accountable. We insist on
supporting “creators” of the problems so they can solve them. We voters are too
cowardly to change paths and demand responsible leadership. The politicians
reward us by passing out goodies, bennies and mythical “safety nets.” We
citizens KNOW that those actions are bankrupting our nation and our future, but
we are too weak and too cowardly to say “NO.”

So, as a
nation perhaps we should change our name to “Oz” and join with Dorothy, Toto,
the Tin Man and the Scarecrow as we follow the mythical yellow brick road
towards our national collapse. While we await some magical formula to provide
us with the means to be strong and self-reliant, we can recite Bert Lahr’s notable
line “….Courage!” Like the cowardly lion, however, perhaps we’ll discover that
the courage we need resides within us. We have allowed cowardice to become our
national mindset because we have become too fearful of risk taking.

I’ve heard
bravery described as “an ordinary person who is afraid to fail.” I sense that
definition is too simple. Our fear of failure has led us to expect the government
to insulate us from any and all ill fortunes. Political bravery and national
courage must be based on the principle that failure is preferable to tyranny. When
government insulates and protects us, it also commands and restricts us. We must
muster the courage to demand our liberty. We must insist that our political
leaders weigh personal freedom as the highest value when they engage in their
typical political calculations. We must stall tall and shrug off the artificial
cloak of government protection. We must shed our cowardice and stand for
liberty.

Comment:  cearlwriting@hotmail.com

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