B. Estrade wrote:
>
> Americans hold self reliance as a core virtue. This is not. "me, me, me." It is rejecting the notion that we have a right to live in a nanny state. That is not selfishness. I think you'll find most Americans quite charitable and concerned for their fellow man.
>
There is a distinct point at which self reliance works to the detriment
of everyone, include the self and morphs into absolute
self-centeredness. And I'd argue that this country is fast marching to
that point, and in some cases, has already crossed it (look at Enron and
the more recent corporate scandals).
The problem is for society to advance, you can't cling blindly to the
self reliance dogma. Sometimes collective will and effort is required.
In fact, much of what exists today was not accomplished through self
reliance, including things like the Internet and the standards that we
use every day in out jobs.
When the concept of collective will and effort is blindly dismissed as
promoting a "nanny state" or dismissed as being some socialistic or
communist idea, then rational thought has left the building.
J
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Received on 12/08/08
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