Julia and Paternalism

pa·ter·nal·ism

   [puh-tur-nl-iz-uhm] 

noun

The system, principle, or practice of managing or governing individuals, business, nations, etc., in the manner of a father dealing benevolently and often intrusively with his children: The employees objected to the paternalism of the old president. 

Paternalism most typically refers to the behavior of a person, organization, or state, which limits some person's liberty or autonomy for their good, or the liberty or autonomy of some group of people for their good. John Stuart Mill opposed state paternalism on the grounds that individuals know their own good better than the state does, that the moral equality of persons demands respect for others' liberty, and that paternalism disrupts the development of an independent character i.e. Julia. In On Liberty he writes:

"the only purpose for with power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant. He cannot rightfully be compelled to do or forebear because it will be better for him to do so, because it will make him happier, in the opinion of others, to do so would be wise, or even right. "

Julia is a perfect example of how this government has been trending for decades. Julia is; faceless, dependent, controllable, a state functionary. A paternalistic explanation of slavery is one that claims slave holders held slaves because they believed it was in the slaves best interest or an explanation that claims slaves viewed their masters in a manner similar to the way children see their guardians. White slave masters diluted themselves into believing their victims were better off under their whips than otherwise and by so doing justified the sin of servitude. Historian Kenneth Stampp drew the following analogy:

"The most generous master, so long as he was determined to be a master, could be paternal only toward a fawning dependent; for slavery, by its nature, could never be a relationship between equals. Ideally it was the relationship of parent and child. The slave who had nearly lost his manhood, who lost confidence in himself, who stood to receive the favors and the affection of a patriarch."

We once believed, almost universally, that the government and the constitution was there to protect minorities from overbearing majorities. Today it seems that we have an overbearing minority in the federal government that seeks to change the way we live our lives. The federal government punishes the productive producers and rewards the non-producing entitled. This is bad parenting by an increasingly paternalistic government. 

We have less people paying taxes and working than we have collecting government aide and entitlements. We have elderly people (some of them rich) receiving benefits in the billions paid for by tomorrow's workers. We have poor people paying for privileged children to go to top universities. We penalize the savers with outrageously low interest rates and reward the spenders with loopholes and incentives to keep spending. We are a country made criminal by excessive government regulation and laws. We are a country of paperwork, forms, permissions, and cartels. We have the highest corporate tax in the world and we ask ourselves why unemployment is so high. We impose minimum wage and payroll taxes on businesses that end up hurting workers and the poor. We can't enforce or protect our borders and we fain to protect those of Afghanistan on the other side of the world at astronomical expense in human life and treasure. Congress has sold us out for power and personal individual gain. Congress has betrayed us. The President has failed us. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance and we are asleep at the wheel.

Julia is a perfect example of what the government wants to do to every citizen; man, woman, and child. If we allow it we will be like Julia i.e. one of the faceless masses who contributes to the government what she is told to contribute and receives from the government what the government deems fair. Of course the government carries the great paternal burden which comes with certain perks and necessary benefits such as better health care, better pay, better retirement, and a better life. But that is only fair considering the incredibly difficult job of parenting 350 million children that can't care for themselves. Maybe my name is Obama. Maybe we are all Obama's children. It smacks of Cara Piña in Panama, Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Augustus Cesar in Rome, and Stalin in the USSR. We are witnessing the infantilization of the country.

Julia is an erie reminder of where state paternalism is headed; cradle to grave entitlements. For those that find Julia comforting we must remind them to look east and remember the cost of overbearing government minorities imposing their will on great majorities. There are countless millions dead and ruined lives on the path to Julia paternalism. Just crack a history book and glance through the 20th century. We cannot let government do for us what we can do for ourselves. The stakes are very high. Send a wake up call to Washington and the White House. More freedom equals more power. Take the power back!

Let's hope that honest feminism is alive and well. Julia is no match for empowered women who choose their destiny.

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