America the Collectivist.

I have been reading Ian Toll’s book Pacific Crucible about the war in the Pacific from 1941-1942 and I came across an interesting fact. The Allied forces did not seem to think that Japan could train excellent pilots because of the lack of individualism exhibited within Japanese culture at the time. The Allies were very wrong of course, but this question of individualism had me thinking about life today in the United States. Can we still claim individualism as a strong trait in the country today? I would answer with an astounding, “No.” You might be thinking, “Whatever could you mean? School taught me that everyone is unique and special.” Yeah, they told me that when I was in elementary school too; however, I have come to same profound conclusion stated within The Incredibles, “When everyone’s special, no one will be.” This is a very true statement and one that amply puts the argument of individualism vs. collectivism square in the minds of the young and old alike (because, let’s face it, The Incredibles was a great movie enjoyed by all ages).

Still not convinced? Let’s look at how the education system in this country has been acting as of late toward those individuals who dare think differently or question the academic status quo or consensus. The first example is of a Columbia State Community College general psychology professor who forced her students to wear “Rainbow Coalition” pins and noted that anyone who opposed homosexuality is a bigot. Another example is the secret removal of a pro-life display by the University of Alabama. Yet another instance involves the bullying of a 15 year old high school student by teachers because of his conservative beliefs. The last incident involves a North Carolina teacher who said it was against the law to criticize president Obama in answer to opposition of her comments about the president. I could on and on with story after story, but you get the point. Coupled with the report by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) that the top 25 liberal arts colleges are guilty of restricting free speech, do any of these cases sound like they are meant to encourage free and individual thought? No, it sounds more like there is encouragement of support for only one world view and it definitely is not a view of freedom and liberty.

What does every one of these examples of educator intimidation have in common? The professors and teachers are all leftists. When looking up the definition for leftist on Wikipedia (I wouldn’t recommend it), I found the most ridiculous definition as one who supports social equality with the Right Wing supporting social inequality. Isn’t Wikipedia’s bias just wonderful?  Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the left wing as “the part of a political group that consists of people who support liberal or socialist ideas and policies.” Thus, a leftist is one who holds to this world view.

While the leftist might support social and economic equality, equality does not always correlate with the terms liberty or fairness. Government subsidies, themselves originated from left-leaning social programs, are even noted by Revkin (2010) in the New York Times as lacking fairness for certain energy firms while promoting others. Additionally, the Soviet Union sacrificed freedom and standard of living for its own version of “equality.” McClelland (2014) states that Communism under the Soviets failed to motivate the workers to produce enough goods to promote a high standard of living.       

It’s quite convenient that these leftist educators are in league with socialism. Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik Revolution, stated, “Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted.” This same sentiment is being bandied about today as the leftists indoctrinate our children into collectivist drones to serve the statist agenda. The idea is to get them young so you’ll have them for life.

According to Biddle (2012), “Collectivism is the idea that the individual’s life belongs not to him but to the group or society of which he is merely a part, that he has no rights, and that he must sacrifice his values and goals for the group’s ‘greater good’” (para. 3). This is the opposite of individualism which promotes the idea that the life of the individual person belongs to himself or herself. In an individualistic society, a person is free to choose his or her own path regardless of the state’s desires.

Why mention collectivism in a discussion about socialist education? I mention it due to the fact that collectivism is the wood that fuels the fire of the social agenda. Without all of us being on the same page, socialism would crumble without the financial support of the agreeable and eager sheep. A socialist society needs the producers to provide money for the programs that assist the “disenfranchised.” This is the reason leftists like to trivialize the right wing competition by making their views seem evil and uncaring. “The Republican health plan is for old people to die.” “The Right hates the poor. “ “Christians just want to stone gays.” You don’t want old people to die, hate the poor, or want to stone homosexuals; so, the left seems like the way to go. However, none of those arguments are based in reality are really meant to shame you into buying into their propaganda.

This absolutist avenue of creating a guilty collective consciousness has worked so well for the Left that they have been organized against us with almost one central voice. One of the greatest blessings of the Right, free thought, can also prove to be its curse if we let it. All people situated within this spectrum tend to exhibit many different opinions which can divide as much as unite. We need to unite now more than ever because as Benjamin Franklin said, “We must hang together, gentlemen...else, we shall most assuredly hang separately." 

Biddle, C. (2012). Individualism vs. collectivism: our future, our choice. The Objective Standard, 7(1). Retrieved from http://www.theobjectivestandard.com/issues/2012-spring/individualism-collectivism.asp.

McClelland, E. (2014).  Communism saved the American worker. Salon. Retrieved from http://www.salon.com/2014/04/01/communism_saved_the_american_worker_how_soviet_competition_raised_our_living_standards/.

Revkin, A.C. (2010, August 2). All’s not fair when it comes to energy subsidies. New York Times. Retrieved from http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/alls-not-fair-when-it-comes-to-energy-subsidies/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0.