Small government? No thanks, I Want a Government that is Big Enough

I have to admit that I can never understand advocating for a government small enough to drown in a bathtub. What sense does this make? We all tweet and text our opinions on hand-held devices made possible by a government big enough to invest in research and innovation that cost too much money for the private sector to advance on its own. How astonishing that people do not seem to get the connection between modern technology and the United States government’s investment in the very expensive, trial-and-error of science and space exploration.

I hear people tell obvious falsehoods, designed to mislead an audience that is free to tune in or not, on airways built, licensed and regulated by the very state railed against; and never shut down for the outlandish things they say.  I hear people boast of being “self-made” for creating a marketable object that is shipped across the country on railroads built by slaves and exploited immigrants from all over the world, especially the Chinese and Irish. This self-made individual drives home on roads paved by the state, lighted by power made possible by grids designed and built with state resources, reads an un-censored newspaper and eats food harvested mostly by Mexican immigrants, many of uncertain legal status, and rendered fit for consumption by a state agency that has inspected it; all so that this self-made individual may arrive safely at her home and consume a meal that will not poison her. Self-made? Maybe when you dig your own well for water, maintain your own cesspool, drive your own trash to the dump and have to pay someone to ensure the safety of your premises, then maybe; but other permanent state resources will always be impossible to avoid for anyone who has enjoyed success in these United States.

It is big government that lays the foundation for anybody’s success in this country, one way or another. What is so wrong about that?  One of the biggest contributing factors to American success is ownership of property, and specifically the manner in which we set up a system for recording deeds and other relevant property records. In many countries, it is often impossible to ascertain who owns the property, rendering it unavailable for development. I want a government big enough to organize and build the public infrastructure that we all use to provide opportunity for advancement and to improve our lives.

I want a government big enough to keep me safe and protect me from that which would harm me, A government small enough to drown in a bathtub would have been overrun by fascists in the 1930s and 40s. The Nazi leadership was well-schooled in American geography and were already prepared to divvy it up; had it not been for our government, that was big enough to defeat them, as well as the Empire of Japan after attacking Pearl Harbor. A small government would not have returned from WWII as victors.

I want a government big enough to evolve and atone for past mistakes, like slavery and the legalized and institutionalized white supremacy that enabled it; the effects of which are still being felt today. I want a country big enough to apologize for the shameful internment of Japanese-American citizens, and to make amends to them.  And when that bad habit of racism refuses to yield, I want to a government big enough to get George Wallace out of that schoolhouse door.

I want a government big enough to protect me from those who would exploit me, by ripping me off or refusing to honor a promise. Where are citizens supposed to go to seek redress for damages done to them, if not to an impartial public court, organized under a set of laws and rules written by a duly elected congress? Who else is supposed to do these things? Who are we to trust if not ourselves? For that is what elections are supposed to be all about. When we vote, we are choosing who we want to hire to worry about all of these things, so that we can go about our lives. That is what a representative democracy, or a republic, is. We choose people we trust to be our voice.

And when my fellow Americans find themselves without – without food, shelter or medical care – I want a government big enough to care. Whether by personal circumstances, economic conditions or natural disasters, there are families out there without what my mother used to call, “the barely necessities” -- food, electicity, running water, shelter. We did without a lot of those barely necessities when I was growing up, and we had a government that cared about our lack of resources and opportunities. I had the Great Society, which provided us with food, jobs and educational opportunities where there had been none.

I want a government big enough to invest in its citizens, especially those without opportunity, and smart enough to discern the distinction between an investment and a hand-out. Whatever resources the Great Society invested in my family have been more than re-paid. By investing in my brothers and me, big government provided the foundation for three future tax payers and job creators. In the final analysis, all the money we’ve paid in taxes (from the time we were teenagers), the jobs we created or helped to create, the hours of tutoring and volunteering we have all done,  more than outweighs the initial cost to the Great Society. Moreover, we were inspired to become better citizens and to give back to our community, as our community gave to us.

 

I want a government big enough to include all of us, and to realize that we are still growing into the greatness of our ideals; pushing forward instead of scaring its citizens into believing that we were all better off once upon a time that never existed. I want a government big enough lead the whole world in many ways, rather than settling into mediocrity. I want a government big enough to plant an American flag on the surface of the moon, a whole bunch of times.

Small government and super power cannot exist in the same entity. As I watched President Obama commanding the respect of other world leaders this week, and cheered on by thousands of global citizens, I was glad that my United States government was big enough to have influenced many historic events which made that moment possible.