Need or Want?

There’s an organization named American Voice of Reason.  One of their quotes goes like this:

            “We don’t need big government and we don’t need small government.

             We need effective government that works for all people.”

I agree with this simple statement. Not sure it is simple after analysis, but it may help others understand the premise of the statement if first we agree that government is a necessity. It is not luxury. Nor is it meant to be all-consuming. Government ought not be the objective of any society working together whether nation or state.

Government should be a public utility that makes a society safe, productive and sustainable. The society should be safe, productive and sustainable, not the government. Let’s be clear about that.

A public utility? Sure. Military defense systems. Police services. Fire prevention and safety. Judicial process that ensures that laws are properly written and implemented – adjudicated if you will. Education services which allow each person to live a life of fulfillment based on their own talents and interests – not the rote training of employers or government forces. Education – the unfolding and unfurling of the inner person and his/her innate promise.

There are countless services best reserved to government roles: land use standards and economic development; food safety; drug/medicinal safety; health services and standards; professional standards and certification; water standards and adequate supply; sewer and sanitary systems and standards; public transportation in the broadest of senses including air, rail, shipping and highway networks. The list goes on.

On a national basis there are global relations, and diplomatic services. Then, too, we must include here international science research, cooperation and education. Space probes and collaborative approaches to sustainability of mankind itself. These are proper interests of government.

Within government there are careers with long term fascination and interest. In and of itself these careers are not a bad thing; they only become so if their focus becomes self serving rather than citizen serving or society serving.

The sticking point regarding ‘government’ appears to be policy determination and decision making. What laws we get, who they apply to, how we apportion resources to public issues and their management, those are the stumbling blocks of government. Oh, I suppose there is the issue of careerists or bureaucrats, too; these are the people who are committed to keeping themselves employed in government service; for their own gain, not that of the public.

Policy determination is caught up in the ‘political process’, the means by which people allow decisions to be made on their behalf using the resources they have shared with the society or government (read taxes!). Somewhere along this journey we run into wants and ideology. Philosophy. Values. Theology, even! We get this all mixed up with the usual operations of government. So mixed up with this that diversion and derailment often occur.

Wants. Now that’s another dimension to be explored. Government should not be about human wants; just needs. Where that boundary is situated at any given time is a complicated point needing to be made.

I am not anti-government. I am a supporter of order against chaos, but free thinking and free markets are important elements of mankind striving to learn the most and create the best. Learning and creating are necessary, exhilarating, processes. They are core activities of mankind. Each person seeks a calling unique to their interests and talents. It is not the role of government to produce ‘callings’ for people but rather nurture people who can follow their own yearning to ends that make sense for them.

I don’t know where this came from on the internet but this quote seems to fit here:

“The road to success is not straight. There is a curve called failure, a loop called confusion, speed bumps called friends, red lights called enemies, caution lights called family. You will have flat tires called jobs, but if you have a spare called determination, an engine called perseverance, a driver called will power, you will make it to a place called  Success.”

Each of us is individually making our way through life. The quote labels many components of that journey we will encounter. Multiply that struggle by the population of the land, or state, or region, and the complexity gains weight. What is personal, career, need and/or want? Now include this matrix to what a nation says it wants for its people and the discussion becomes enormously complex!

Somewhere along the line there is a more simple truth. The problem is finding it. As Karen Moning reminds us:

“The most confused we ever get is when we try to convince our heads of something our hearts know is a lie.”

Perhaps that is the well head of the complexity? Too many of us accepting ‘truths’ that do not resonate with the simplicity we need?

I need to think more on that.

July, 30, 2013