Guest Opinion: A Nation Addicted to Government - Getting Sober

By Peg Luksik
4/25/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Americans are now a nation of addicts.Only we are addicted to government

Americans are now a nation of addicts. Only we are addicted to government. Every time a challenge or difficulty arises, we have been conditioned to turn to the government to either remove (deaden) the pain that we might feel or to help us escape the challenge that we need to conquer. And just like every other addict, we collectively deny that our dependence is a problem.

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HARRISBURG, PA. (Catholic Online) - Anyone who has ever known a recovering alcoholic has probably heard the story of what finally caused that person to face his addiction and get sober. They also have probably heard that after the physical withdrawal symptoms have subsided, the emotional withdrawal process begins. Many recovering alcoholics find the emotional process much more arduous in the beginning, and much more freeing as they move further into sobriety.

They have to actually experience all the emotions and challenges they either deadened or escaped through the alcohol. They report that it's almost a knee-jerk reaction to say, "I can't do this!" and reach for the nearest bottle. It's only when they begin to say, "With God's help, I CAN and WILL do this!" that freedom from addiction begins.

But think about so many of the conversations that we have heard or participated in about cutting government spending. The phrase, "Cut the spending but not in my program," is uttered so often that it has become a clich�.

If anyone suggests that we might want to consider possibly looking at a solution to a challenge that does not involve the government, that individual is labeled as heartless and uncaring. They are given a lecture about how the people in question need assistance - as if assistance and government are synonymous terms.

The addiction has moved beyond assistance into control. Instead of dealing with each other, we get the government involved with an ever-growing list of laws and regulations. Some of them grow out of the government bureaucracies, but many of them are initiated at the request of citizens who want the government to deal with whatever situation they are facing.

If we are serious about shrinking Washington, we need to begin by facing our own addictions.

Is there a government program that we participate in, not because we have an urgent need, but just because we "want our piece of the pie"?

Is there a way to deal with an issue using church and community resources instead of a federal program? Have we ever looked for one?

In the beginning, the withdrawal symptoms will be difficult to manage. As with any addict, we will need to begin by facing our own areas of addiction without excuses. We will need to withstand the experience before us without reaching for the government bottle. We will need to learn different ways of dealing with challenges or difficulties. We may even need to stop listening to our fellow addicts who tell that we shouldn't have to abstain until everyone else does.

But if we persevere, we will find that the process gets easier. And just as with every recovering addict, we will find that with God's help we can be free.

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Peg Luksik is the Chairman of the Center for American Heritage. Learn more about the heritage of this exceptional nation at www.centerforamericanheritage.com

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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: economy, deficit, Budget, addiction, Peg Luksik

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1 - 10 of 14 Comments

j
1 year ago
Excellent article and much needed in our society. Recall when Paul Ryan came out with his first "written proposal" to cut our national debt back in April 2011? While not perfect, it put the issue out there on the table for all to look at and for "both sides of the government aisle" to work out some kind of solution. Recall also how one party sought to ridicule Ryan and his plan. Remember the video with Granny being pushed off the cliff by a Ryan lookalike? It seems to me that this is what happens when a citizenry begins to lose its virtue. It is as though the question for many becomes not what is best for us and for our children and our children's children? It becomes rather an exclamatory statement, "I've got mine; leave it alone; go and get yours!" And the saddest thing is that those same people will deny that their thinking and acting is part of the problem---even as they march to the polling place.
Judy
1 year ago
NewCat: Talking about people being able to feed themselves...Weimar Germany. Hyperinflation. Good Post. Blessings...
Vance
1 year ago
Great article. NewCat you are spot on. Karl Marx laid out the blueprint for the over throw of governments to achieve a world communist society. Our Blessed Mother at Fatima, Portugal warned us in 1917 about the Communists overthrowing Russia and "they will spread their errors throughout the world". The addiction to government is all by design. The Marxists under Lenin made a science of studying human behavior. This is why Lenin hired Pavlov who conducted his famous "Dog Study" "Stimulus Response". It was all about control over people and absolute power. Today, it is all about control and absolute power. It is up to We Catholics to vote out the Marxists this November.
Judy
1 year ago
mg: If you need it, and there is nothing else you can do, you need it. Prayerful Blessings...
Pete Brady
1 year ago
If there is an "addiction" does it not also follow that someone is supplying it? While Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution says, "No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States," it is my opinion that in practical effect we have in fact elevated our political leaders to the status of a nobility. Members of Congress are, to the uncritical eyes of much of the public, and seemingly see themselves as, a new American aristocracy, and the President takes on the aura of "king," even "Emperor." I wonder how many American citizens (exclude the "naturalized) even recall that the Constitution begins with the words, "We the people?" There is a "political elite," and the maintenance of themselves in "power and money" is their chief objective. To that end, like the "pusher," they FEED the addiction. And today's "fix" is never enough tomorrow.
JoAnn
1 year ago
NewCat: Bravo!!! Great post. Keep them coming. "No society can remain ignorant AND free." Thomas Jefferson. God bless.
Diane
1 year ago
I agree with this article. I am elderly-disabled and I live in a low income apartment building. I constantly watch as some people sign on fro free gov't paid housekeepers, free cooked food and they don't need it. In the evening they go out to their new cars, with their friends, and go out to dinner3-4 times a week. I buy my own food and cook it and clean my own apartment. When asked why I don't rush to get the freebies I say, "I don't need them . Take care of yourself as much as you are able or you'll be sorry. You will be weakened." And they are. Even with my disabilities I am one of the most active and positive people here.The sense of entitlement is terrible. It's not free. It is taken from a working taxpayer. It costs somebody plenty. Also this current gov't is bending over backwards to give unneeded things to unneedy people. The gov't will also take it away once you vote for them. Just ewatch and see; they'll even take the neccesities away. Just watch.
Everett Mann
1 year ago
Ms Luksik, what regulations do you believe we should live without? Clean Air Act? I for one appreciate the fresh air I am able to breathe due to the smog controls. Maybe you do not agree with seatbelts in autos. Maybe you prefer the pink slime beef. Maybe you prefer the poor- there will always be poor even in a purely capitalist system because there will always be the blind the dead the physically handicapped- to starve to death or live under a bridge somewhere you do not see them on the way to Sunday Morning mass. Perhaps you like the fact that the latest cure for restless leg syndrome will also cause brain hemorages. Irony is you, and many others who post here, want big government to prevent abortions and homosexual marriages. You want to prevent cures that can be found through stem cell research and your employees to not use contraception even when it is beneficial to their health... I may be a Cafeteria Catholic but at least I am honest about it. Nothing you say in your letter is even remotely Catholic so how do you say you are Catholic?? At least be Honest.
mg
1 year ago
Well not sure what you call addiction - my kids need basic health care and when Gov. Walker (WI) cuts health care benefits from my gainfully employed husband, a teacher with Milwaukee Public Schools, with a legitimate union collectively bargaining for our benefits, we applied for Badger Care (medicaid) for low income families in WI. Any suggestions on cutting our "dependence" on the Government?
Rob
1 year ago
Why is government spending always pointed to the people as if they are the only ones with this addiction? The reason this addiction isn't going away is because their is too much money to be made from government spending. Pick your program. They have an army of lobbyist armed with something more powerful than our vote, campaign cash. Why no outrage about government contractors, military spending etc? But the author is right, the mantra of cut government spending, just not my programs is alive and well. Shut the spicket for care to the elderly as we surely don't want any socialism in this country, but bullets, we'll take all you have. How about we just have a country that just values people first? Not corporations, the government etc, just people.

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