Thursday, July 08, 2004

Everything But the Apathy

Micha Ghertner, over at Catallarchy, gives "a hearty “Hell Yeah",” after reading a Fred Reed piece titled “This Ain’t Fifth-Century Athens." In the piece, Fred casts his eye on voting and democracy, and he puts forth some very fine reasons not to vote, for example,

"Voting in particular is an embarrassment, being a public display of weak character and low intelligence. Let us face the truth: Democracy, like spitting in public or the Roman games, is the proper activity of the lower intellectual and moral classes. It amounts to collusion in one’s own suckering."

Further into the piece, Fred proposes the following, in regards to how to react, or contend, with government.

"First, and most important, stop regarding yourself as part of government. Government doesn’t concern itself with you; why should you concern yourself with it? The change of attitude provides both relaxation and perspective."

Not bad advice, per se, but Fred also proposes developing the following.

"Finally, cultivate apathy, which is cheaper than Prozac and works better. You do not worry about what you do not care about. I do not propose a depressed scowl at life, but merely a wholesome indifference toward those forces malign and otherwise over which you can have no influence."

Once again, I don’t necessarily think this is bad advice, but, I cannot embrace a wholly apathetic attitude toward government.  I cannot wholly embrace Fred’s suggested apathy towards government, because I cannot bear to see MY country’s continuing degeneration into the morass of socialism, especially when I consider the future of my children.  Though preceding generations have left me with an increasingly nannying and more intrusive government, I cannot bear the thought of leaving the same to my children.  I want to give them something more.

Additionally, apathetically allowing the government to continue to pick my pockets, or license me for this, that, or the other thing, is akin to allowing myself to be rounded up and put on a boxcar for resettlement in a camp where work will set me free.

Posted by John Venlet on 07/08 at 02:16 AM
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