Collectivists Don't Get it and Never Will

America is built on the premise of individual liberty.  The Constitution is written to protect individual liberties.

Yet, somehow, there are a lot of people who view this country and our government as collectivists.  Many people in Europe see things the same way.  They don't get it.  Of course they don't.  It's a concept that is alien to them having been adapted to living in gilded cages for their entire lives.

There are people in America, citizens, who desire what Europe and other socialist countries have because they see themselves and other people as collectivists do.  They do not see a person as "one",  they only see a person as being "one of..."

That is the fundamental difference between what America really is about and what others want to think it should be changed to.

Americans who get it understand that unless a law or an action taken benefits each and every individual person, it is not a good law for this country.  Collectivist thinking is what the founders of the country were escaping from.  Mob Rule.

To them, you don't exist unless you are part of a group.  The individual has no place except to fill the gaps in between the others who make up the group.  To them, it is only as a group that people are safe and able to lead productive lives because their endeavors are to benefit the group instead of the individual.

Individual liberty though, relies on a full appreciation of recognizing that all people are born with Free Will.

It is because of Free Will that individuals are able to invest themselves to their fullest potential to whatever they apply themselves to.

If a person is forced, drafted, coerced, pressed into doing something, even if it's something they might have eventually decided upon themselves, the odds are, they will resent doing whatever it is.   When people resent their situation, they do not fully invest themselves in it and only give the least amount of energy required.  That is only human nature.

If people are not forced to help each other, to cooperate, to collaborate, to help one another, it doesn't meant that they will not choose to do so of their own volition.  If we believe that most people are good people, then we agree that most people, when they see someone in need, they will choose on their own to help and work together to accomplish mutually beneficial tasks.

The truth of the matter is, most people do try to help others.  They donate money when they have it and can spare it.  If it's their own choice to donate, they often donate more than they would than if they were forced, cajoled, pressured or otherwise made to do it by someone else.

This country and our Constitution are a testimonial to Free Will and Individual Liberty.  It has been shown that when people have the chance to make their own choices, to take risks on for themselves, of their own choosing, they will do so and do so with enthusiasm.

Will there be some people who do not? absolutely.  Some people will always be assholes.  That is the risk America takes when allowing each person to live their own life and make their own choices.  Some people will choose to be asses. We have to let the few do so so that the rest of us can see them for what they are and using them as bad examples, become a better person themselves.

Collectivists don't "get that" and they never will because to them, the only thing an individual is good for is serving the needs of the group.

If you want to live like that, go to one of those countries that are already doing that.  No one is stopping you. 

American, Party of One

You know, maybe I've been going at this dislike of political parties all wrong.  Sure, they have accomplished nothing but to polarize the american public and completely defeat the purpose of electing representatives who represent the will of the people but hey, maybe there's another way to go about this.

Here's my effort at creating a party that might actually get done what the others fail to do, some intentionally so.

1) The Constitution is the final word, it is as it is written.

2) The Constitution is not malleable, it does not change to fit any individual or specific group of people, but all people are to make the effort to live up to the Constitution.

3) The only "Greater Good" is that which ensures that all people equally are able to access and exercise their individual liberties.  Anything that attempts to supersede that by granting special rights and privileges to particular groups or collections of people is undermining the greater good that is the collection of individual American citizens.

4) The government does not have as a purpose to "protect" any individual, but rather to protect that all individuals rights are protected.  Individuals should be able to protect themselves, their families and their property as best they are able.

5) Elected representatives are seen as fulfilling a voluntary service to their community and to their country, much as the individuals who choose to volunteer as soldiers. They are not considered to be part of an elite class of citizens above or beyond the capacities and abilities of any other citizens.

6) Elected representatives are expected to be held to an ideal of respect for their office and to expect they are above such corruptions such as coercion, bribery and false representation.  If they cannot be trusted to be better than that, they are not worthy of holding elected office.

7) Members of Party of One are expected to stand for an ideal of "one voice, one vote".  Think for yourself, speak for yourself.

When you join the Party of One, you are expected to educate yourself on the topics facing your community and your country.  You are expected to elect representatives who have the ethical, moral and logical capacity to rightfully fulfill their role as an elected representative.  It is your responsibility to make sure to communicate with said elected representatives to ensure they are aware of the will of the people they represent.  Don't wait for them to ask you, you take the initiative and let them know.

America is not a collective of people.  It is an agreement, one by one, of individuals who voluntarily choose to work together as required and desired to exercise the recognized inalienable rights of Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness for every individual.

The Party of One has only the goal of vetting candidates who exemplify the expressed interests and purposes as described above and don't certify anything more than the potential representatives in question have thus far shown themselves to be free of duress, undue influence and corruption.  Their individual platforms are their own and they speak for themselves as they present themselves to the people for consideration.The Party of One.  Think for yourself, speak for yourself.

Who's with me?