Let’s talk about privilege

No, not that kind of privilege

I’m sure that title immediately brought to mind the idea of so-called “white privilege.” That, or perhaps you envisioned images of people born into money or royalty with mansions and large estates. Neither of these is that to which I refer. There is a level of privilege we all in America enjoy, a certain standard of living in which the poorest of the poor are still richer than many in other countries.

People’s reactions to power outages in the wake of bad weather, along with some other incidents, commercials, movies, got my mind rolling down this path of thought.

Having made over fifty trips around the sun, I’ve seen quite a bit of change in my life (much of which is generally considered “progress” - perhaps that is a matter of perspective). Of course, there was plenty of such progress long before I ever was conceived.

I remember the days when, if you wanted information, you either looked it up in an encyclopedia or had to go to the library and know how to use the card catalog. I remember the days when, if you were out and needed to contact someone, you had to find a pay phone (and either had to remember that someone’s phone number or have it written down). I remember the days when, if you wanted to call a business for a product or service, you had to look it up in a phone book. I remember the days when, if you wanted to go somewhere and did not know where the address was, you had to use a paper map to plan your route. I remember the days when, if you wanted to play video games with your friend, you either went to an arcade or your friend had to come over and you had to put your TV on channel 3 so your game console (Pong, Atari 2600, Colecovision, Intellivision…) would work (in many cases, a two player game meant you took turns playing). And communicating with someone over a distance? You either paid for a long-distance phone call or you had to buy stamps and put a letter in a mailbox.

Technology has changed all that. The Internet has largely replaced encyclopedias and libraries. Mobile phones allow us to be in constant contact regardless of location. No more need for phone books when these two combine. Finding your way around? We now have GPS. Video games use the Internet so you can play, not just with one friend, with several all at one time over vast distances. With cell service, no longer do we pay for long distance calls. And with email and IM, no more waiting for the USPS to deliver paper postage.

Upon these conveniences, to which many still lack access, most in America have become dependent. When services become unavailable, hordes have melt-downs. How can we live without instant everything? What is wrong with that service provider, not keeping my mobile phone service up and running despite the natural disaster that just took out half their towers? How do they expect us to continue to exist?!?!

You’ve heard it before. You may even have participated in the mass meltdown. Then the next step comes - the call for government to step in. Why? Why should government be responsible for products and services provided by private (or even public) corporations?

Yet this is where it goes. Perhaps you recall the absolute outrage at Ted Cruz going on vacation to Mexico when a winter storm took out power across Texas in 2021. How dare a federal Congressman take his family on vacation! And to somewhere warm in the middle of winter no less! People were so upset, that Cruz eventually issued an apology, because…. by staying in Texas he could have fixed the problem? Who among those complaining would not have done the same if they were able? And what does a federal Senator have to do with power issue in the State? What Constitutional responsibility does the federal government have over local power delivery?

We do consider electricity a necessity now; but like other technological conveniences, it really is a privilege. There was a time when there was no electricity and people survived just fine without it. Early in the history of electricity, few had it. Then, over time, infrastructure was built and more were granted the luxury. Now, in America (this is not true everywhere outside of America, and perhaps even in some places in America), electric utility power is fairly ubiquitous. It is, however, generated and delivered by non-governmental entities (and governmental entities). So why should government be involved?

Southeast Texas, in the wake of hurricane Beryl, is once again dealing with widespread power outages. As usual, people want to blame, and involve, government. Why? When has government ever done a better job than non-governmental entities at handling an issue?

This is privileged thinking, and it is dangerous. It is dangerous, because it grants government power that does not belong to it. It leads to a reliance on government that gives government the idea that it has control. It is a snowball rolling downhill growing along the way, similar to what you see in cartoons, except that this snowball is truly dangerous. It is the type of snowball that leads to tyranny. If you doubt this, take a moment to reflect on the government’s attempt to eliminate carbon-based fuels from which we currently derive the majority of our electric power.

Like it or not, these are privileges, not necessities (just look at the Amish). So while it may be inconvenient to have our privilege interrupted at times, we should keep in mind that it is not government’s place to provide, or control, these conveniences. Otherwise, we end up with government attempting to control us.