Rugged Individualism And A Free America
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
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"Rugged individualism" is recognized today as some sort of mental illness in 21st century America.
Look.
I am not a "togetherness" type personality. I was reared by parents
who insisted that I learn to fend for myself at an early age. I was
given my emancipation from my parents (by my parents) at what is thought
of today as the "tender age" of sixteen. I'll never forget that day.
We
had a family conference on the back porch of our little country house.
Corn and sugar cane grew right up to the edge of the lawn. In the
distance one could hear the grunting of the hogs and in the near
distance the clucking of the chickens happily pecking small grains of
sand from the loose soil to aid in the efficiency of their gizzards. It
was the sound of breakfast being produced!
It was, for this ole
country boy, the ideal setting to be told that today you are free ...
free to carry responsibility for yourself... for myself. I would make
my own decisions with input from my parents only upon request. It
meant, also, that I would bear the consequences of decisions made with
little or no experience on the matter being decided upon.
Frightening?
Damned right, it was! Did I make mistakes? You'd better believe I
did, lots of them, and every single one a learning experience. I carry
many scars from those early mistakes -- my gray hair not the least of
those reminders. Many of those scars are still red, ugly, and extremely
tender -- even today.
But -- I LEARNED!
Ultimately,
I learned that in the end, everyone is accountable to themselves and
responsible to (and for) themselves for the host of so-called
"screw-ups" we all make.
As a teenager, I learned to choose my
friends and associates wisely. I didn't have a posse and I didn't
become a part of anyone else's posse, either.
My best friend
from those teen years -- is still my best friend to this day. We were
then, and remain today, independent thinkers. We often disagree with
each other. And that's fine. Our friendship transcends disagreement.
Besides, it seems to me, friends OUGHT to allow independent thinking
amongst them.
I learned that one should not allow oneself to be
overly influenced by what others say and do. It's OK to look and listen
and evaluate. But in the end, one has the responsibility to form his or
her own opinion and be ready, willing, and able to defend that position
when, and if, it becomes necessary.
As you can see, nothing I
learned is earthshaking or even worthy of note -- except -- that I
learned them at an unusually early age. Well, not so unusual for my
generation, but simply unheard of in today's society.
That early emancipation created an "individualist." We are better known today as "weirdos" or worse.
There was a time in America when individualists were prized. No longer.
Today
in a communist leaning America, an individualist is an impediment to
the so-called "greater good." See, we have a way of saying things like:
"Wait a minute!" "Whoa!" "Not so cussed fast!" And the MOST dreaded -- "Let's think about this for a moment."
With
our Neo-Leninist/Communist President herding America from one
manufactured crisis to another in order to keep the populace off
balance, off kilter, and vulnerable to frightening scenarios designed to
elicit support for his communist agenda for America, the LAST thing
Obama needs is for some NUT JOB, like yours truly, to insist that we
"wait a minute," "think about this for a moment," or some such
objection. The very last thing Obama and his henchman need is for
Americans to take time to actually THINK about what is going on in
America today.
America was founded on and by individualism.Though in modern America you won't find much individualism expressed, at all.
"America
was built on the social-political ideals of Individualism; the
philosophy of self-reliance, in the face of peril, and in the name of
freedom. Our communities were forged by rugged personalities,
adventurers and entrepreneurs, determined to secure their freedoms in a
new land, far from the archaic ideas of statism that were popular
throughout Europe. Indeed the Virginia Company of London, which founded
Jamestown in 1607, the first permanent new-world English settlement, was
an entirely entrepreneurial venture." SOURCE: http://www.nationofchange.org/essentiality-individualism-modern-america-1354804096
That which is now described as the "soft despotism"
of the American political left has driven America into a sort of
collectivism. Wholly un-American, it is the new or
"NEO-Leninist/communism" we referenced earlier. And it is smothering
America and driving her into third world country status at an alarming
speed.
In an article at The American Thinker, Daren Jonescu states the following:
"The fundamental battle to be waged concerns nothing less than the
nature of man, and the moral implications of that nature. If public
disapproval of particular Obama policies is to become a lasting movement
toward societal renewal, then the conservative's primary objective must
be the restoration of American individualism." SOURCE: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/03/on_restoring_american_individualism.html#ixzz2brz3AVsB
Mr. Jonescu continues:
"Those who wish to subvert the American republic, and to undermine its
founding documents, have always understood that the primary obstacle is
ethical individualism." SOURCE: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/03/on_restoring_american_individualism.html#ixzz2bs0z5mwY
Look.
All the talk about reclaiming America, about restoring America, is all
for naught -- IF we do not restore individualism FIRST. To be
honest with you -- I don't know how we can do that. It takes
generations to produce self reliant individualists. Besides, I don't think America likes individualist anymore.
From individualist to globalist Americans have forsaken that which made them -- and then made them great.
Our
ship of state now sails toward the rocky shoals with the white flag of
surrender snapping from her mainmast. The remains of her sun whitened
carcass will lie scattered on the rocks as a warning to other nations
not to stir the course America chose. But, alas, if history is any
predictor of the future, that warning will go unheeded.
© J. D. Longstreet
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