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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