The American Dream is in the Fight of Its Life by Bob Imbrigiotta

(This essay is part one of three on a discussion about Freedom)

Freedom is what makes America great. Freedom is the FUEL of the Human Spirit and allows the flame inside each of us to burn its brightest which brings out the best in us. For 236 years, our government has been the champs at letting freedom flourish and in fact created the concept of The American Dream! Unfortunately it is under attack and in the fight of its life. There is a competing dream in America, one that I will call the Progressive Dream, a philosophy from the late 1800’s Progressive Movement . The American Dream and Progressive Dream are opposites in the field of political thought, just like fire and ice. Examining the stark differences between the two will reveal the truth, and will reveal the common ground which will allow us to come together and emerge as ONE TEAM USA!

The American Dream

Most people don’t realize that the American Dream was the start of something very special, almost magical. Men had been writing about Freedom for thousands of years and it never really got a good chance until the early 1600’s. When the Pilgrims came to the New World in 1607, they established a society empowering Freedom that lasted for almost 150 years. The Colonists adopted self-government in an outpost of civilization. By the mid-18^th century, America enjoyed the highest per capita income in the world. Ben Franklin remarked in a debate at the House of Commons in the 1760’s:

“They were governed by this country at the expense only of a little pen, ink, and paper; they were led by a thread.”

Around 1760, there began a turbulent fifteen year period when Great Britain’s high sovereign debt led to taxation and tyranny in the Colonies. Colonists were told where to live, what Tea to buy, and to pay a tax on any paper (the media of the day). They were forced to see laws passed with no representation and to deal with judges who were pawns of King George III. Imagine the shock felt by these Colonists who, after living in Freedom for 150 years, had to experience the period of tyranny. Not only did it throw cold water onto the faces of the Colonists. It also watered the seeds of the Declaration of Independence.  When Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1776:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."

He wrote in that document one of life’s ultimate truths, just as animals live free in the wild, people likewise ought to be free.  He stated that our rights are God given. The Founders had a core belief that God played a role in our lives to help one pursue his or her dreams! This empowered them to create a limited government which trusted the individual and gave him a seat at the table of government.

The promise of the American Dream is Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Note these are INTANGIBLES -- things that can't be touched or felt in a physical sense!

Since this time, the transforming power of Freedom has been on display in America. Never before in the history of man has a country had so many citizens internal flame burning so brightly. And it was noticed! Americans stood out in the crowd for our confidence, optimism, and can-do attitude. We were a culture of winners and doers! As a nation we earned our reputation for accomplishments in science and business, for our tremendous wealth and prosperity, and for our generosity to nations in need. When the collective lights of an entire country are burning brightly the potential is unlimited! Capturing this spirit of America would be like trying to paint the night sky as seen from the top of a mountain. No artist could ever capture the billions of glowing specks burning so brightly. That is America!

 

The Progressive Dream

The Progressive Dream came about in the late 1800’s when society was grappling with problems stemming from the Industrial Revolution. Problems like shrinking demand for skilled tradesmen as businesses shifted to unskilled workers, harsh working conditions, child labor and politics dominated by big business. There was a belief that our system of government could not keep up with changes in society from the advances being made in technology. We needed a way to ‘PROgress’ and allow government to catch-up with the times.

At that time, there was also an arrogance for independence, not independence from Great Britain, but an independence from the constraints of the Constitution.  Imagine living at a time when Charles Darwin suggested how men and animals could evolve without a God. This was combined with significant achievements in science, and people began drinking the progressive tea. Citizens began to distrust the Constitution’s ability to govern effectively. In 1912, President Woodrow Wilson remarked in a paper titled ‘What is Progress’:

“The trouble with the theory is that government is not a machine, but a living thing. It falls, not under the theory of the universe, but under the theory of organic life. It is accountable to Darwin, not to Newton.”

“Living political constitutions must be Darwinian in structure and in practice. Society is a living organism and must obey the laws of life, not of mechanics; it must develop”

We started to think of government as a living thing. Government became ‘alive’ by the creation of agencies to manage most aspects of life. It was fed by the new income tax and supported by the new Federal Reserve Board. During the Depression, the expansion of government continued with the New Deal under the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In fact, James Q. Wilson in his book, Bureaucracy, What Governments Agencies Do and Why They Do It  said:

“Today there is not much chance to create a new agency; almost every agency one can imagine already has been created.”

The Progressive Dream was best expressed in writing by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1944 State of the Union Address. In that speech he spoke of a second Bill of Rights for the American people:

"... a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all regardless of station, race, or creed. Among these are:

-The right to a useful and remunerative job….

-The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing…

-The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products….

-The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition…..

                  -The right of every family to a decent home

                  -The right to adequate medical care….

-The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness….

-The right to a good education"

Note that the Progressive Dream speaks of rights that are TANGIBLE in nature, things that can be provided to the individual. The Progressive Dream provides ‘fuel’ for the body not the spirit! As we say in engineering, the word ‘right’ in each of the FDR statements is the root cause of the differences between the two dreams. When a Progressive says those things are rights, it uses government as the vehicle to make those things a reality.  But, the problem is that the list is YOUR list not the governments! What makes life so fulfilling is to pursue those things on your own. Sadly, they are going against human nature and man’s longing to be free by taking ownership of your God given rights.

The Constitution, which described a limited government to allow men to govern themselves, was replaced by a ‘living’ government that made decisions regarding life in America. The new government was no different than the alternate reality from the movie, ‘The Matrix’. The individual’s seat at the table of government slowly went away as ‘laws’ were replaced by agency regulations (passed without a vote from Congress) and an explosion in the number of judges who made laws from the bench.

Just as animals in captivity lose their edge and ability to care for themselves, so do people who begin to depend on the government for their basic needs of food, shelter and medical care. It creates a culture of dependency! Tragically, when government provides for you, your internal flame can barely burn. Unlike the overwhelming splendor of lights produced by the America Dream, the Progressive Dream produces just a few bright stars; most so dim that they cannot be seen like the night sky over a big city.  Still, the Progressive Dream has an attraction to many with the promise of basic material things. Unfortunately, the dangers of ignoring the needs of the Human Spirit get lost in the shuffle.

The Progressive Dream has also hurt businesses! When the Government establishes safety nets to ‘protect markets’ from crashes in housing and banking it has the opposite effect. It creates a culture of dependent businesses that forego sound risk management procedures and ‘thinking through on issues’.

Based upon the huge incorrect assumption, that Government can provide for man, the Progressive Dream has created a terribly vicious cycle. The cycle starts when Legislators throw money at government programs, which normally fail because they ignore man’s yearning to be Free. Continuing  this Worldview that government can provide for man, the response to failed programs is for legislators to spend more money. And it continues on and on. Ben Franklin, one of our greatest founders had some prophetic words for the dangers of a progressive system:

"I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I travelled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer."

We have somehow forgotten the difference between ‘helping people in need’ versus ‘taking care of them’. (In essay #3 on Freedom we will discuss some suggestions for dealing with the problems of poverty in our country)

The Root Cause of Our Problems

The American Dream provides ‘fuel’ for the Human Spirit; the Progressive Dream provides ‘food’ for the body producing a culture of dependent people. One dream trusts in the individual, while the other trusts in government. When you mix a culture of independence (American Dream) and dependence (Progressive Dream) the result is a slowly sinking society that dims all lights and produces a purely dependent culture. The dark overwhelms the light!

The Progressive Dream is poison for the Human Spirit!

Dream	Creators	Key Assumptions	Provides
The American Dream	The Founders	-Men are to be Free -There are God given unalienable rights -Men should self-govern -Men should have a seat at the table of government -Government should be limited and constrained by the Constitution	Intangible rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness
The Progressive Dream	The Progressives	-Government needed to counter the advance of technology -Government is a living thing -Government can take care of people	Tangible rights to job, salary, home, medical care, education and more

Let’s focus on the light inside each of us and realize; IT’S ABOUT THE INDIVIDUAL! When we do this we will we find common ground to tackle the problems of America as ONE TEAM USA! Then watch problems drop, one by one, in lightning speed.

This essay is dedicated to my father, Robert P Imbrigiotta, who passed away one year ago today.