Personal Independence

                   The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday is:  In order to be truly free, individuals must be independent of all other people, organizations, and governments.  People who have an "entitlement mentality" and expect others to take care of them cannot consider themselves to be personally independent.  In fact, people who are dependent on handouts from the government are slaves of the government rather than free men and women.

                    The Heritage Foundation's report entitled "The 2012 Index of Dependence on Government," written by William Beach and Patrick Tyrrell and dated February 8, 2012, begins:  "The great and calamitous fiscal trends of our time - dependence on government by an increasing portion of the American population, and soaring debt that threatens the financial integrity of the economy - worsened yet again in 2010 and 2011.  The United States has long reached the point at which it must reverse the direction of both trends or face economic and social collapse.  Yet policymakers made little progress on either front since the 2010 Index of Dependence on Government was published.  Today, more people than ever before - 67.3 million Americans, from college students to retirees to welfare beneficiaries - depend on the federal government for housing, food, income, student aid, or other assistance once considered to be the responsibility of individuals, families, neighborhoods, churches, and other civil society institutions.  The United States reached another milestone in 2010:  For the first time in history, half the population pays no federal income taxes.  Related to these disturbing trends, publicly held debt continued its amazing ascent without any plan by the government to pay it back.  As if those circumstances were not dire enough, the country is about to witness the largest generational retirement in world history by a population that will depend on currently bankrupted pension and health programs"

                    One of the biggest problems with entering a government entitlement program is the difficulty involved in extracting yourself from it.  The longer a person receives something "for free" - at no personal effort or cost - the more willing that person is to believe they are "entitled" to that benefit.  The older I get, the more I understand and appreciate why The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints expects/requires the recipients of its welfare program to do something for what they are getting - except of course those people who are truly incapable of doing anything.  A Bishop may require a welfare recipient to shovel the snow from the walkways around the chapel or water the lawn or help in the bi-weekly cleaning of the meetinghouse.  He may require the recipient to work in the Bishops Storehouse helping other needy people.  There are numerous ways that people can do their part in society and "pay" for the assistance they receive.  By "working" for what they get, welfare recipients are more able to maintain their dignity and their ability to help themselves.  There is no shame in needing help, but there is shame in getting sucked into believing that you can't help yourself.

                    In an excellent article entitled "TheEffects of Dependence Programs:  More Harmthan Help," Donlyn Tumbull explains:  "Whoever controls your money and your choices controls you.  And when you lose that ability, you begin to stop taking responsibility for your life.  Dependency programs breed more dependency and can create the same psychological effects as people involved in abusive or other severely difficult situations.

                    "Many people assume if you are in a bad situation you will do anything to escape.  However, the truth is, `If you feel like you aren't in control of your destiny, you will give up and accept whatever situation you are in'.  It's the very definition of a psychological effect proven in the 1960's by scientist Martin Seligman, called `learned helplessness'. 

                    "When people begin to believe they can't help themselves they eventually stop trying.

                    "The Administration is allowing people to become fully dependent on them for their basic needs like food and access to health services, even encouraging it.  The more they rely on the Government, the more Government has control of their lives and the less people feel they are capable of escaping their situation.  Without responsibility and choices, they give up."

                    Independence improves our self-esteem and our capabilities.  Agency or the opportunity to choose is one of the greatest gifts that God has given to His children.  He bestowed it upon us in our pre-earth life.  Agency is so important that there was a war fought in heaven because Satan wanted to take away our agency.  Those spirits who followed Satan were cast out of heaven and lost the opportunity to gain physical bodies.  How do we maintain control of our lives and our ability to make choices?

                    "And there was war in heaven:  Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

                    "And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

                    "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world:  he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him" (Revelation 12:7).

                    The government "entitlement" programs are a Progressive plan to take away our ability to choose and and thus to control our own lives.  Touted as a means of "saving" us, they actually enslave us.  Government agents who seek to take away our agency are no better than Satan who continually tries to entice us to accept bondage. 

Lehi, an ancient American prophet, taught, "Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man.  And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life , through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself" (Book of Mormon - Another Testament of Jesus Christ, 2 Nephi 2:27).

We must be free and independent in order to be happy and live effective lives; otherwise, we are miserable like the devil.  This site  has an article entitled "Personal Power and Control Can Make You Happier and Healthier."  The article states, "Control is the real and perceived personal power we each possess over our own life and the events in it.  It is our ability to make choices and choose our own destiny.  Related to this real or perceived ability are our feelings of competence and personal power.  We are happier and more effective when we have the power to choose.  The loss of personal responsibility for our lives causes us to be less happy and healthy.  It is only natural that when this power to make choices is taken away, we resist and engage in `reactance.'  We like to at least believe we have the ability to control our lives."

This article describes a test about "whether increasing control and power in the elderly causes them to be happier and healthier."  The testers separated out an experimental group of residents in a "one of the finest nursing homes in Connecticut" and gave these residents more personal responsibility and choice in their care.  They believed that these residents would "demonstrate improvements in mental abilities, activity level, and satisfaction with life."  The residents on two floors were randomly selected to be part of the test.  One floor would have more choice in how their rooms were arranged and be "responsible for voicing their complaints, telling what they liked and what they wanted changed."  They were also "offered a plant of their choice" to care for and a choice of whether or not to watch a movie and when.  The comparison group was basically told that their choices would be made for them because it was the nursing home's "responsibility to make the home a place where they could be proud of and happy in.  They were given a plant that would be cared for by the nurses and told when they could see the movie.  The "test" lasted for three weeks.

"The results [were] striking.  The fourth-floor residents reported they felt happier and more active than those in the comparison group.  Even greater differences were seen in the nurses' ratings.  It was determined the experimental group's condition improved markedly over the three weeks of the study, while the comparison group in general declined.  Furthermore, significantly more residents from the experimental group attended the movie and participated in the game."

The importance of choice over events in our lives is present from the cradle to the grave as is our accountability for our choices.  Toddlers are most happy when they feel that they have a choice in their clothing, in the food they eat, in the books they "read."  When teenagers sense they are being "forced" to do anything, they quickly indicate their refusal.  As shown in the above referenced test, the aged are also happier when they feel they have control over the events in their lives. 

I do not appreciate or enjoy having someone tell me what I can do or where I can go.  When my husband is over-zealous in trying to control me, I remind him that "I am free, white and 21" and I don't need anyone controlling me!   I am a very independent woman, and I want to make my own decisions.  I want to maintain as much freedom and independence as possible; therefore, I recognize the need to retire Barack Obama before he and his minions enslave all Americans.  We must repeal Obamacare and shrink the entitlement programs to the point where they are strictly for those Americans who cannot help themselves.  We must make the necessary changes in our tax codes so that every working American pays taxes.  Our nation cannot survive much longer as a free nation if individuals continue to sell themselves into bondage to the federal government. 

                    For other articles containing my feelings about entitlement programs, click here  or here. 


Updated March 3, 2012:  Here is a good video about how our government wants to increase the number of citizens who depend on government for services.