It’s easy to identify enemies of liberty when they come in the form of murder, torture, imprisonment without trial, slavery, etc.

But what if our enemy is much more subtle? What if our current enemy is actually the promise of a “pleasant” life? How can we identify, much less defeat, such an enemy?

If you don’t do anything else today, I urge you to take time to read Charles Murray’s phenomenal speech The Happiness of the People.

Murray draws the battle lines clearly, then calls us all to wake up and rise to our responsibility. He argues that the battle today is between a western European, socialistic life of “pleasantness,” versus American “exceptionalism,” which is “a different way for people to live together, unique among the nations of the earth, and immeasurably precious.”

If you’re not convinced to read the entire article, at least read this portion:

“If we ask what are the institutions through which human beings achieve deep satisfactions in life, the answer is that there are just four: family, community, vocation, and faith…
 
“The stuff of life — the elemental events surrounding birth, death, raising children, fulfilling one’s personal potential, dealing with adversity, intimate relationships — coping with life as it exists around us in all its richness — occurs within those four institutions.
 
“Seen in this light, the goal of social policy is to ensure that those institutions are robust and vital. And that’s what’s wrong with the European model. It doesn’t do that. It enfeebles every single one of them…
 
“Almost anything that government does in social policy can be characterized as taking some of the trouble out of things. Sometimes, taking the trouble out of things is a good idea. Having an effective police force takes some of the trouble out of walking home safely at night, and I’m glad it does.
 
“The problem is this: Every time the government takes some of the trouble out of performing the functions of family, community, vocation, and faith, it also strips those institutions of some of their vitality — it drains some of the life from them. It’s inevitable.
 
“Families are not vital because the day-to-day tasks of raising children and being a good spouse are so much fun, but because the family has responsibility for doing important things that won’t get done unless the family does them.
 
“Communities are not vital because it’s so much fun to respond to our neighbors’ needs, but because the community has the responsibility for doing important things that won’t get done unless the community does them.
 
“Once that imperative has been met — family and community really do have the action — then an elaborate web of social norms, expectations, rewards, and punishments evolves over time that supports families and communities in performing their functions.
 
“When the government says it will take some of the trouble out of doing the things that families and communities evolved to do, it inevitably takes some of the action away from families and communities, and the web frays, and eventually disintegrates.”

The American web of exceptionalism is disintegrating by the minute. It’s time to reverse the trend. It’s time to embrace freedom and reject the tyranny of European pleasantness, which is actually long-term slavery.

Charles Murray argues that America’s elites must lead this charge (compare this to Peggy Noonan’s article A Separate Peace). Unfortunately, we can’t wait for them, nor can we depend on them. If you haven’t noticed, they aren’t doing such a great job. We the People must become the leaders we wish to see in the world.

So how about it? Are you ready to lead? How can we do this? What ideas do you have to turn the tide of dependence?

While you’re thinking, consider this quote from Alexis de Tocqueville in Democracy in America:

“One of the happiest consequences of the absence of government is the development of individual strength that inevitably follows from it. Each man learns to think, to act for himself, without counting on the support of an outside force which, however vigilant one supposes it to be, can never answer all social needs. Man, thus accustomed to seek his well-being only through his own efforts, raises himself in his own opinion as he does in the opinion of others; his soul becomes larger and stronger at the same time.”

I was once jumping on the trampoline with three of my kids — eight year-old Alex, three year-old Liberty (Libby), and eleven month-old Avery — and, like I am prone to do, reflecting on ideal society.

Alex, skilled and energetic, wants to jump as high as he can and perform tricks.

Libby, unaware of her surroundings, jumps wildly, often upending Avery.

Avery has a good time, yet she’s at risk from her older, heavier, more capable siblings.

Much of the time was spent cautioning Alex and Libby to be careful with Avery. In fact, the experience revolved around catering to Avery, the youngest, weakest, and least capable in our family.

One adult and three kids on a trampoline — a microchosm of society, or at least what it should be. The following are the lessons I identified:

1. Cater to the weakest.

Just as we cared for baby Avery on the trampoline, in the ideal society, individuals voluntarily serve and uplift the weak, the poor, the aged, the disabled.

Competition and cooperation go hand-in-hand; competition increases quality while cooperation ensures peace and stability. Competition should never create ill feeling; cooperation should never create dependency.

The goal of this ideal isn’t to take the strongest down to the level of the weakest; rather it is to uplift the weak to increased capacity, thus raising all of society without creating wide discrepancies in social status and/or wealth distribution.

2. Create outlets for all skill levels and interests.

While the ideal caters to the weakest, it also allows for full expression of every individual, including the most talented and capable.

The disease of socialism is that it tends toward mediocrity, tearing down the able in the name of “helping” the weak.

In the ideal, catering to the weak is never done at the expense of the strong.

In the case of our trampoline experience, we took turns so that each child could do what they wanted and grow on their terms. Alex took a turn alone, doing flips and aerials. Libby did her crazy thing. Then, I held Avery in my arms and we all jumped together.

No desires were sacrificed, Avery was protected and made to enjoy the experience at a higher level than she could alone.

Think of this concept in a public school setting. Inevitably, in a class of 25 or more students, the “slow” learners get left behind, while the “fast” learners quickly become bored. Both the weak and the strong suffer.

Imagine a setting where each individual is allowed to learn and progress on their own terms, at their own speed. Then, having grown, they help others to do the same.

3. Protect rights.

Just as my youngest daughter needed to be protected from physical danger posed by her siblings, the ideal society has a strong institution that protects the rights of every individual.

Keeping individuals safe from harm from others is not the same as giving every individual the same material goods.

4. The ideal is for all of this to happen at the level of family and community.

Politicians and bureaucrats in Washington have no intimate knowledge of, nor a relationship with, the members of our communities.

While families and community members voluntarily serve each other, the federal government relies solely upon force to institute “goodwill.”

Top-down, removed-from-the-source charity always tends toward bureaucracy, wastes money and misemploys resources, and depends upon force as its animating factor.

Ideal charity is animated by voluntary love, is based on intimate relationships, makes the most productive use of resources as possible, and creates independence from dependence, and interdependence from independence.

Conclusion

So who cares? There’s no startling revelation here. What matters is what we do with this knowledge, not what we sit and ponder on.

Be a bridge-builder: Identify where society is, where it should be, then quietly and powerfully insert yourself in the middle.

Find people that need to be served and serve them. Help the unemployed develop skills and find employment. Help addicts find freedom.

Be active in your community. Be true to your spouse and loving to your children. Teach your children the importance of service, especially through your example.

Remove the need for federal government force by replacing it with family and community-centered voluntary charity.

The next time you’re disgusted with federal government waste, deception, and/or force, turn that disgust into positive action by building your family and community.

The stronger our families and communities, the less involved and smaller the government can be.

And spend some time jumping on a trampoline with your children — there’s no telling what you’ll learn.