"What’s worse is that, at least since the late 1980s, though likely earlier, Americans have become convinced that government is the answer to all of life’s problems." - I'm not sure exactly when this kicked in. I'm more inclined to say it was the 1960s but there are plenty of examples that this kind of attitude, "the government is the solution" was growing in popularity since the 1930s.
Now it seems like many are completely blind to the flaws of this thinking. Too many are convinced that "government is the solution, as long as you agree with me". Toxic ingredients in food? Get the government to ban them!
Our government isn't going to be able to operate effectively until public trust is restored. How do you get that trust? I'd say the first step is to "get the heck out of our lives" (aka small government).
Agreed, the 30s is a better starting point, with FDR's NewDeal, CCC, etc. And of course WWII set the Military Industrial complex in high gear, carrying on with expanded government and military through the Cold War and subsequent forever wars in perpetuity.
Which is why I stated that the expansion began in the 1930s, though I don't know if the broader big-government sentiment had subsumed the greater population until later, especially since the Marxist infiltration of the educational system likely beginning with the founding of the federal Department of Education.
According to Grok, the Department of Education officially began operating on May 4, 1980. So that's a pretty new thing! I didn't realize the Dept of Education didn't even exist when I was in school!
I believe Carter created the Department of Education in 1979 and it went into operation in 1980. As far as I recall, at least up until high school, we were taught to be patriotic. That seems to have changed in the late 80s after Zinn's Marxist "A People's History of the United States" became a standard text in public schools.
I'm not saying some people at that point didn't already yearn for more government. Programs like FDR's New Deal and LBJ's Great Society certainly lent influence in that direction; but over the past few decades, we've seen a rise in pro-socialist/pro-Marxist (and anti-America) sentiment that has never (to my knowledge) been so prevalent in America.
The "pledge of allegiance" was certainly practiced in school when I attended. Personally I thought that was a terrible idea. Expecting young kids to pledge allegiance to something they don't even know what is. I'm opposed to all allegiance pledges. A main reason why "free speech" is important is that we are free to criticize our government.
For us, it was more than just the pledge of allegiance. We learned patriotic history. We sang patriotic songs. We learned to be proud to be Americans and to love our country. As for the pledge itself, I see no issue with it, nor do I see it as in any way standing in opposition to free speech. The pledge isn’t about government - it’s about country. I wrote about it a while back. Perhaps this will help: https://curetsky.substack.com/p/one-nation-under-god-indivisible
Yes, the big government actions started in the 1930s but has anyone studied the popular perception then? Did people *want* this then? Most likely, because government hadn't been a big intrusion in lives before that, the general public probably didn't know what to think of these new government changes. After all, the politicians have always spun these things as "good things". "Less crime" - sure that's a good thing. "Less poverty" - sure that's a good thing. "Social Security" - wow, that sounds nice. Etc, etc, etc...
And if we want to go further back, foreign involvement ("League of Nations") started more like during World War I. Before that, I think we only caused trouble in the Americas (Latin and South America).
After the depression, many people looked at programs like Social Security as a decent idea to help people save for their retirement. Not ALL jobs made the deductions for social security mandatory. It was initially designed to be voluntary but was later changed. The program was originally a decent idea (on paper at least) and ALL money was supposed to be put into a giant trust and used for nothing other than that program. HOWEVER, as it happens with pretty much all government based programs, the fed dipped their hands I to that cookie jar and screwed it up royally. Before that, the trust had a massive surplus which would have covered the Boomers with not problem ... even those who hadn't paid into the program.
Once again, big government get involved and EVERYONE ELSE pays the price.
Oh yeah... there were a BUNCH of people who were TOTALLY against the New Deal, social security and all other forms of entitlement programs. There were also many who opposed the US getting involved in WWII, at least until Pearl Harbor. They didn't even want to send weapons to the allied forces. It's also amazing to look into how many nazi sympathizers there were at that time in America. Charles Lindbergh was a nazi sympathizer and was called out in print by Dr. Seuss before he was Dr. Seuss and was doing political cartoons. If you ever get a chance to read "Dr. Seuss Goes to War", I highly recommend it. Some of the cartoons in it are incredible.
I think your understanding of the Social Security Act of 1935 may be a little misinformed. I'd have to read it again to see what part/how much of it was "voluntary," but it isn't quite what you (or most) believe it to be. Here is the beginning text of the Act:
"The Social Security Act (Act of August 14, 1935) [H. R. 7260]
An act to provide for the general welfare by establishing a system of Federal old-age benefits, and by enabling the several States to make more adequate provision for aged persons, blind persons, dependent and crippled children, maternal and child welfare, public health, and the administration of their unemployment compensation laws; to establish a Social Security Board; to raise revenue; and for other purposes."
The idea of voluntary retirement funds is great. However, I'm not aware of Social Security ever being implemented like this. Of course any such plan needs transparency and it can't be "robbed". That's like my employer dipping into my 401k plan because "We had a bad year and needed a bit of cash to tide us over.".
In the very beginning there were jobs where participation was voluntary. If I remember correctly, it was mandatory for all government employees but most private sector positions it was not. It's been a while since I read into that information so I may be mistaken in my recollection. I'm going to have to look into it again to refresh my memory.
All of this to say, with the ever-expanding bureaucratic state and the globalist influence on our national political machines, the EU was doomed to fail from the start, and our lurch in that direction is more than just a recipe for disaster, it begs the need to return to the intent of the Constitution if not the Articles of Confederation vesting the majority of, if not all control in the hands of the individual states and their respective populations in order to correct the course this ship is currently on.
Sometimes I feel like a broken record because this is yet another shining example of how little a large number of people know about the Constitution and how our government was set up by the Founding Fathers. But, the truth has to be told MORE often than all of the LIES that have been going around for the last 100 years (give or take a few). I pray for and look forward to watching as people start learning the TRUTH.
I'm not sure the public cares about the "truth" about our constitution anymore. They now think they have a better interpretation: "general welfare"... it excuses all kinds of intrusion into life and business. Whatever the Tyranny of Democracy winds blow this year!
"What’s worse is that, at least since the late 1980s, though likely earlier, Americans have become convinced that government is the answer to all of life’s problems." - I'm not sure exactly when this kicked in. I'm more inclined to say it was the 1960s but there are plenty of examples that this kind of attitude, "the government is the solution" was growing in popularity since the 1930s.
Now it seems like many are completely blind to the flaws of this thinking. Too many are convinced that "government is the solution, as long as you agree with me". Toxic ingredients in food? Get the government to ban them!
Our government isn't going to be able to operate effectively until public trust is restored. How do you get that trust? I'd say the first step is to "get the heck out of our lives" (aka small government).
Agreed, the 30s is a better starting point, with FDR's NewDeal, CCC, etc. And of course WWII set the Military Industrial complex in high gear, carrying on with expanded government and military through the Cold War and subsequent forever wars in perpetuity.
Which is why I stated that the expansion began in the 1930s, though I don't know if the broader big-government sentiment had subsumed the greater population until later, especially since the Marxist infiltration of the educational system likely beginning with the founding of the federal Department of Education.
According to Grok, the Department of Education officially began operating on May 4, 1980. So that's a pretty new thing! I didn't realize the Dept of Education didn't even exist when I was in school!
I believe Carter created the Department of Education in 1979 and it went into operation in 1980. As far as I recall, at least up until high school, we were taught to be patriotic. That seems to have changed in the late 80s after Zinn's Marxist "A People's History of the United States" became a standard text in public schools.
I'm not saying some people at that point didn't already yearn for more government. Programs like FDR's New Deal and LBJ's Great Society certainly lent influence in that direction; but over the past few decades, we've seen a rise in pro-socialist/pro-Marxist (and anti-America) sentiment that has never (to my knowledge) been so prevalent in America.
The "pledge of allegiance" was certainly practiced in school when I attended. Personally I thought that was a terrible idea. Expecting young kids to pledge allegiance to something they don't even know what is. I'm opposed to all allegiance pledges. A main reason why "free speech" is important is that we are free to criticize our government.
For us, it was more than just the pledge of allegiance. We learned patriotic history. We sang patriotic songs. We learned to be proud to be Americans and to love our country. As for the pledge itself, I see no issue with it, nor do I see it as in any way standing in opposition to free speech. The pledge isn’t about government - it’s about country. I wrote about it a while back. Perhaps this will help: https://curetsky.substack.com/p/one-nation-under-god-indivisible
Yes, the big government actions started in the 1930s but has anyone studied the popular perception then? Did people *want* this then? Most likely, because government hadn't been a big intrusion in lives before that, the general public probably didn't know what to think of these new government changes. After all, the politicians have always spun these things as "good things". "Less crime" - sure that's a good thing. "Less poverty" - sure that's a good thing. "Social Security" - wow, that sounds nice. Etc, etc, etc...
And if we want to go further back, foreign involvement ("League of Nations") started more like during World War I. Before that, I think we only caused trouble in the Americas (Latin and South America).
After the depression, many people looked at programs like Social Security as a decent idea to help people save for their retirement. Not ALL jobs made the deductions for social security mandatory. It was initially designed to be voluntary but was later changed. The program was originally a decent idea (on paper at least) and ALL money was supposed to be put into a giant trust and used for nothing other than that program. HOWEVER, as it happens with pretty much all government based programs, the fed dipped their hands I to that cookie jar and screwed it up royally. Before that, the trust had a massive surplus which would have covered the Boomers with not problem ... even those who hadn't paid into the program.
Once again, big government get involved and EVERYONE ELSE pays the price.
Oh yeah... there were a BUNCH of people who were TOTALLY against the New Deal, social security and all other forms of entitlement programs. There were also many who opposed the US getting involved in WWII, at least until Pearl Harbor. They didn't even want to send weapons to the allied forces. It's also amazing to look into how many nazi sympathizers there were at that time in America. Charles Lindbergh was a nazi sympathizer and was called out in print by Dr. Seuss before he was Dr. Seuss and was doing political cartoons. If you ever get a chance to read "Dr. Seuss Goes to War", I highly recommend it. Some of the cartoons in it are incredible.
https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Seuss-Goes-War-Editorial/dp/1565847040
I think your understanding of the Social Security Act of 1935 may be a little misinformed. I'd have to read it again to see what part/how much of it was "voluntary," but it isn't quite what you (or most) believe it to be. Here is the beginning text of the Act:
"The Social Security Act (Act of August 14, 1935) [H. R. 7260]
An act to provide for the general welfare by establishing a system of Federal old-age benefits, and by enabling the several States to make more adequate provision for aged persons, blind persons, dependent and crippled children, maternal and child welfare, public health, and the administration of their unemployment compensation laws; to establish a Social Security Board; to raise revenue; and for other purposes."
It was *never* just a retirement fund.
The idea of voluntary retirement funds is great. However, I'm not aware of Social Security ever being implemented like this. Of course any such plan needs transparency and it can't be "robbed". That's like my employer dipping into my 401k plan because "We had a bad year and needed a bit of cash to tide us over.".
In the very beginning there were jobs where participation was voluntary. If I remember correctly, it was mandatory for all government employees but most private sector positions it was not. It's been a while since I read into that information so I may be mistaken in my recollection. I'm going to have to look into it again to refresh my memory.
Chuck Shumer recently doubled down on Obama's, "you didn't build that" ideology in a recent rant on The View concerning his condescending attitude about American employers and workers and their desire to keep more of their money instead of having it stolen for bureaucratic pet projects. https://townhall.com/tipsheet/jeff-charles/2025/03/19/chuck-schumer-issues-warning-to-the-left-about-embracing-antisemitism-n2654067
On top of that, Bill and Hillary Clinton waxed nostalgic about the current state of American Autocracy and the need for globalists and leftists in general to control the narrative and flow of information to nudge society where they want them to go. https://redstate.com/rusty-weiss/2025/03/20/hillary-trashes-america-on-foreign-soil-demands-control-of-information-that-determines-how-we-think-n2186873
All of this to say, with the ever-expanding bureaucratic state and the globalist influence on our national political machines, the EU was doomed to fail from the start, and our lurch in that direction is more than just a recipe for disaster, it begs the need to return to the intent of the Constitution if not the Articles of Confederation vesting the majority of, if not all control in the hands of the individual states and their respective populations in order to correct the course this ship is currently on.
Great comment, and I agree wholeheartedly.
YIKES. plenipotentiary. WAS a new one on me. Just. WHO in their right mind would agree to that.
Sometimes I feel like a broken record because this is yet another shining example of how little a large number of people know about the Constitution and how our government was set up by the Founding Fathers. But, the truth has to be told MORE often than all of the LIES that have been going around for the last 100 years (give or take a few). I pray for and look forward to watching as people start learning the TRUTH.
I'm not sure the public cares about the "truth" about our constitution anymore. They now think they have a better interpretation: "general welfare"... it excuses all kinds of intrusion into life and business. Whatever the Tyranny of Democracy winds blow this year!