Henry David Thoreau once said, “That government is best which governs not at all.” In the land where anything is possible, where you carve your own path and create your own destiny, no other thought could sum up the attitude toward government any better. Many people credit this philosophy of self-reliance and individualism as traits that made American people great, drove us to work harder, and held us to a higher standard of success. Each election, we choose between those we feel will govern more and those who will govern less. Democrat or Republican, neither candidate campaigns on extraneous government, exorbitantly high taxes, or restricting individual freedoms. On the contrary, we are promised less interference, fewer taxes, smaller government, and more rights for the individual, but despite our eventual choice and the promises made to us, we make little progress in these pursuits. No matter the leadership, the government spends more, grows in size, and becomes more powerful. Individual rights are infringed upon for the ‘greater good’ of the nation and hard earned tax money is frivolously pissed away by men we only see once or twice a year on programming we’re not always made aware of. It should come as no surprise that Americans still hold on to the thought, “That government is best which governs not at all.” Rightfully so, Americans are weary of their relationship with the government, because the government by and large has lied to them over and over again without remorse. And so, each election cycle, we are faced with the choice between those we believe will govern less and those who will govern more. No matter our choice, logic and history dictate that our government should not decrease in size, influence, and power, but by and large, if things are good, if the economy is solid and people are happy, we choose the former, but if things are rough and people are upset, we ask of our government to help and chose the latter.

Thoreau finishes his sentence above by stating, “and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government they will have.” An important, thought provoking point to consider when looking at government in general, and especially applicable to America. One reason why the government gets bigger and bigger despite the fact we are told it won’t each and every election, is simply put, men are not ready for it. I feel it’s safe to say that men inherently wish to be free of restriction, and in many circumstances we have shown responsibility in executing our freedoms. One freedom we have not been able to faithfully and ethically execute is freedom of influence and power.

While people would like to believe that they can be responsible for themselves on every level, throughout history, they have proven otherwise. Most specifically, they have proven quite irresponsible concerning their fellow man. Part of being a person free from restriction is realizing that certain actions and responsibilities one undertakes toward the environment and those around them return dividend to themselves. For instance, if all men realized that murder was wrong, there would be no need for a restriction on murder, but people murder other people, and so the restriction exists. If this restriction were removed in the present day, shouldn’t it be safe to say that it would be detrimental to society?

More recently, and certainly not nearly as simple as the example above, an outcry amongst the pubic has been unleashed about the wrong doings of the investment bankers on Wall St. Whether it is so or not, the motives and actions of these men have been called in to ethical jeopardy. Billions of dollars have been spent in attempts to repair the damages that these few men apparently have caused. Again, both republicans and democrats ask the same question, why and how did this happen? Fingers are pointed each and every way, but one thing is clear, it wasn’t because of limits on their freedoms and actions. These men executed their ability in such a way that caused major damage to their fellow man, and they had this right because we Americans had thought that we were ready for a government that governed least.

The point is this, call the American people hard working, strong, intelligent, or whatever other great adjective you’d like to apply; they don’t make us socially responsible. And today, social responsibility is exactly what we need in order to have a government that governs least. For Thoreau it was easy, he left town and lived by a pond for two years to demonstrate the great effects of responsible self-reliance, but for us in the 21st century, be it directly or indirectly, we are more connected to each other than ever before. Only when we acknowledge this, when we become socially responsible for the welfare of those we are connected to, and again, we are connected to all, worldwide, will we have become enlightened enough to realize a government that governs least.

We have shown ourselves not ready yet for that government which governs least, and that is not easy to swallow, but the truth is often hard to face. It’s hard to see why we should trust any government or any man with more power and money, as they have lied to us each time we trust. If doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results is the definition of insanity, then at some point, we must take a stand, make a change, and explore a new direction. Change is hard, old is easy, but the past eight years have shown that the promise of less is not always best. With that in mind, we urge you to choose the government which will help us become socially responsible; the government that will help us to realize that we need our fellow man as much as he needs us.

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