There lies in America a deeply held myth. It is ever prevalent. It is a basic premise of many of our beliefs and stated values. And, it is wrong.
It is the myth of individual independence. There can be little doubt that the concepts of separateness and independence of action are illusions. Yet, far too many Americans believe that they function as totally separate entities with inalienable rights that grant them authority to do most anything they wish, albeit with some prescribed limits. They actually believe that their creative endeavors emerge solely from their individual efforts.
Repeatedly, we hear the stories of “self-made” men and women. The reality is that they could only achieve their accomplishments because they are immersed in a multitude of supportive infrastructures, ones without which none of those achievements might come to fruition.
When President Obama made the controversial statement, “If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen,” he was roundly chastised. The attacks came primarily from Republicans, who still tenaciously cling to the mythology of the independence […]
The author of this article says individual independence is a “myth”. Author should reach out through the “universal consciousness” to the millions who have fought and died to win this “myth” for all American citizens, and see what they have to say about that! Throughout our history there have been “conscientious objector‘s”. They were unwilling to fight in the military service for any number of their own reasons, but we’re never denied their freedoms. That is how I classify people unwilling to take the vaccine. The scientific community has NOT clearly demonstrated the efficacy of the vaccines which is why there is hesitation! Way too many people who have been “fully vaccinated” are contracting COVID-19. The eradicated diseases mentioned that by the author did indeed work! Once you’re vaccinated you did not catch smallpox, or polio, or measles, or chickenpox, or mumps etc. I’m still waiting to see the proof that the vac “helps”. There is much more evidence now which suggests that people who have already had COVID-19 and survived have MUCH BETTER immunity than the vaccine provides, yet they too are chastised for not getting “stuck”! We continue to see that most people who succumb to this disease have (sometimes unknown to themselves) underlying conditions.
And to president Obamas controversial comment
“ if you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen“. The criticisms of that statement were valid. Everything that exists today is built like a foundation, brick upon brick. There’s nothing new about that. Today’s businesses are just adding more bricks. Those bricks come from new ideas and innovations from todays men and women who think them up, work hard to develop, fund, and bring them to fruition. They do deserve the credit and the rewards that come from their work. And along the way they create more prosperity, jobs, wealth and better lives for all of us!
Yes, the scientific community has found the vaccines to be safe and effective. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa2034577
And no, they did not develop their businesses totally independently
And with half a century in national security (including 32 years active duty) no, we didn’t fight to win that myth
What an excellent article! I’m glad that the FDA has 100% approved this vaccine! At 680,000 deaths, and 2000 deaths a day, I believe the documented statistical benefits, should outweigh any small percentage risk.
Because I work at a school, I am deeply aware, that there is more to consider than just myself.