The individual and the collective: ‘the difference’

The always great Baldilocks has written a short but incisive essay about the importance of the individual in families. Read “The Difference.”

[…] But what made a Ben Carson or a Steve Jobs different from the children in the second video? What makes the children who grew up in the early 60s and prior without one or more parents different from the menaces to society we’ve seen all too often in the past four decades?

It’s this: individuals–individuals who step into the breach that mother and/or father vacate voluntarily or involuntarily. Grandparents, aunts and uncles, stepparents, adoptive parents. And the individual biological parents, like Sonya Carson, who step up to the task appointed to them. People like her shape a Dr. Ben Carson, neurosurgeon and leader of the surgical team who first successfully separated conjoined twins. People like the tasered woman–and the man–shape drug-dealers, gang members, welfare mothers and prisoners.

Such people like the latter know nothing of hard work, true education, order, responsibility. The reason this is so? Because neither they nor the other parent(s) of their offspring care about their children being better than they are. They don’t have to care about this because they know that the government will subsidize all of their “needs” and the “needs” of their offspring.

When individuals are the parents, the child will most likely do well. When government is the parent, the child will most likely do poorly and become dependent on government as well–either taking on government as one parent (illegitimate children) or both parents (going to prison). This isn’t rocket science or neurosurgery. From time immemorial, children, with some exceptions, follow in the footsteps of their parents. […]

1 thought on “The individual and the collective: ‘the difference’”

  1. I recently heard this joke:

    Obama is speaking to a cheering crowd.
    “Obama is going to give you food stamps.” Roars of approval.
    “Obama is going to give you housing.” Hysterical cheers.
    “Obama is going to give you cell phones and health care.” Pandemonium.
    “Obama is going to give you jobs!” Silence. “What do we need jobs for?”

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