On Complacency

The dictionary defines Complacency as:

“A feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or with one’s achievements.”

Does that sound a bit like America today? Are we just looking back at how great we were yesterday and failing to see where we are today and where we may be tomorrow? Are we so self-confident that we fail to see how the rest of the world is not only catching up, but surpassing us at so many levels?

Although we are purported to have the highest rated educational system in the world, according to the Business Insider Report our kids score 24th in the world in science and 38th in math.

Although we spend twice as much on health care than the average of the 38 country OECD, according to Cigna, we don’t even rank among the top ten countries for comprehensive health care.  

Our infrastructure is crumbling, our electric grid is on crutches and our rail system is 1970 vintage.

Our allies, feeling abandoned, are turning to our foes and our competitors, and our dependance on foreign sources is still unsettling. We can’t even secure our own borders.

Abraham Lincoln, in his Gettysburg address in 1863, spoke of America as a nation “of the people, by the people and for the people.” Our constitution is the OF part, Our electoral policies are the BY part, and our rights and benefits are the FOR part. 

– The first was done for us, thanks largely to the Founding Fathers. 

– The second we hardly take seriously enough. We elect candidates and then kinda hang around until the next election, hoping those elected will somehow do the right thing for America   – – or not. 

– It seems most of our focus is on the last part “what is the government doing FOR us today.” We no longer seem willing to take responsibility for our own actions. At every mishap we look to the government to bail us out, even when it is our own dumb actions or our own bad luck. We have become way too dependent on the largess of government, to the point where too many see no upside in exerting themselves, waiting for a government handout – – – a handout made possible by those who do diligently work but have little to say about how their hard earned tax dollars are disbursed.

That is not the attitude that sustains a great nation. It didn’t use to be that way. Even I can remember a time when people incurred a serious setback, a great depression, a destructive natural disaster, they got back up, dusted themselves off and, often with the help of neighbors and friends, started afresh. That’s how we became a great nation – – on the backs of the consciencious, the hard-working, the self-sacrificing and the patriotic American.

We lose too much when we abandon that courage, that determination, and that legacy.

– – – – Just the view of a common man