The Objectivist Center celebrates Independence

What Unites America?
Unity in Individualism! (849 words)
By Edward Hudgins

On July 4th we celebrate the creation of the United States of America. But today
Americans seem more divided than at any time in recent memory. What is the cause
of this disunity, and is there a solution?

Today America is divided into Red states -- those that voted for George W. Bush
in 2000 -- and Blue states -- those that went for Al Gore. Republicans and
Democrats square off against one another, often with much anger and little
civility. Political differences reflect a value and cultural divide between
conservatives and liberals, between fans of "The Passion of the Christ" and
those who cheer for "Fahrenheit 9/11."

Conservatives see the breaking of community as a result of the drift into moral
relativism, which has led to high rates of crime, broken homes and sexually
transmitted diseases. They lament how the welfare state and high taxes punish
productivity while promoting indolence. Many conservatives see the solution not
only in tax cuts and free markets but also in government censorship or
restrictions of words and deeds that seem to promote or embody degeneracy.

Liberals see the breaking of community as a result of inequities of wealth as
the country breaks up into the haves and the have-nots. They reject as divisive
conservative control of morals and would prefer instead a government that
actively helps the poor and protects us all from greedy businessmen, pollution,
cigarette smoke, fattening foods and anything else that might harm us physically
or psychologically.

Yet any attempt to unify us that involves a government taking the wealth and
freedom of some in the name of helping others is a surefire formula for
disunity.

The answer to America's dilemma is found in Thomas Jefferson's stirring words
that gave birth to our country: "that all Men are created equal, that they are
endowed ... with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty,
and the Pursuit of Happiness -- That to secure these Rights, Governments are
instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the
Governed."

This is the best statement possible of the America's creed of individualism.
America is rightly described as the land of the individual -- of individual
opportunity, of individual initiative, of individual rights. But what is the
philosophic basis of this creed and thus of our country?

First, each one of us has a right to our own lives. We need not answer or
justify ourselves to a king or government. We need not seek permission to live
as we please from our neighbors, society or anyone else. Individualism means
your life is yours. You own it. You can set your own goals, dream your own
dreams and pursue your own vision of your life.

Second, individualism acknowledges that each of us is capable of running our own
life. We each have the power of reason and the free will to use that unique
human capacity to understand ourselves and the world around us. We each must use
that capacity to create the means of our physical survival and spiritual
well-being. We each can and must live by our own judgment about what is right
for us as individuals. No normal individual - none! - is inherently too weak or
stupid to take care of him or herself. To suggest otherwise is to divide the
country into potential masters and slaves.

Third, because each of us has an equal right to our own life, individualism
means we must respect the rights of others. That means we must deal with one
another based on mutual consent, not by the use of force of fraud. If we fail in
some endeavor, we recognize that there is no obligation for others to sacrifice
their money, plans, dreams and lives for our sake. Yet in a country in which
individuals respect the rights of their fellows, there will no doubt be friends
and family who will return our good will by helping us out if necessary. But as
we each seek the best within us, it will not be necessary too often.

Fourth, individualism means that the role of government is to protect our equal
liberties, not to restrict the freedom or take the money of one in order to
benefit another. When government ceases to protect and instead tries to control,
manage, or "help," no matter what the intensions, the result will be a country
divided into victims and looters; the former are fed guilt to keep them
repressed, the latter are fed envy to keep them rapacious.

It is not an oxymoron to find unity in individualism. Men and women who value
their own lives and who respect the lives of others will benefit by trading
goods and services with others and will be entertained, enlightened and inspired
by the plays, poetry, paintings, movies, music, scientific discoveries,
engineering feats and every manner of human achievement of others. A society of
individuals will be a society worth preserving.

So on July 4th, let us rediscover in the words of our Declaration of
Independence the source of our unity in freedom and individualism.
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Hudgins is the Washington director of the Objectivist Center.

The Objectivist Center is dedicated to promoting a culture of reason,
individualism, achievement, and freedom.


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