The American dream is failure.
That is not to say that the American dream is a failure, rather that Americans dream of failure. Failure is the backbone of our society. Failure keeps us honest. Failure wins us gold medals.
As President Obama reshapes our society he will seek to protect much about our way of life. He will safeguard your savings. He will preserve your job. And he will shield you from foreclosure. While well intentioned, these prophylactic measures are nothing short of tragedy. For with each government-backed program President Obama signs into law, he undermines the American people’s ability to fail. It is this right of failure that grew America strong, and by taking it away President Obama erodes the fabric of our society.
Failure defines America because without it we cannot define success. What do Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan have in common? All three missed more shots than they made in their respective careers. What experience do Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin share? They both lost political campaigns on a national stage. What is a common thread in the life of all five? Success. Indeed, failure breeds success. For in failing one learns the value of succeeding. Yes, failure educates. You correct mistakes, modify strategies, and start over. Thus, if there is one thing to be defended it is the right of failure. Sadly, it is that right that is being sacrificed as President Obama guards our success.
The right of failure is critical to American society because without it there is no incentive to succeed.* If President Obama punishes success to prevent failure, he will soon find a dearth of success from which to draw. Will millions of immigrants still call America home when they encounter a limit to their dreams? Will American workers maintain their appetite for elbow grease when their peers work less and don’t suffer the consequences? No. Preventing failure prevents success because the fear of failure drives success. Diminishing that fear inevitably decreases the allure of success. That allure, and the freedom to pursue it, is what distinguishes America from all the rest.
In short, America is built on a foundation of failure. We are not entitled to two cars. We are not entitled to homeownership. We are not entitled to a hypoallergenic dog.
We are Entitled To Fail.
*Idea courtesy of Mr. Owen Handy
5 comments:
come on, dude. that's a crock and you know it. blatant attention seeking prose. one person's failure is another's success. political policy is no representation of the heart and soul of our country.
Pete, what have you ever failed at that compares with someone losing their job or their home? I would guess that you have never fallen on your ass that hard or you wouldn't be so quick to allow others to do so.
Pete is right. What percentage of businesses fail? A society that precludes the opportunity for failure precludes the opportunity for success. If you make a door that cannot be shut, it can also never be opened. Innovation is born from (borne by) a process that is rooted in repeated failure.
Nobody is going to claim that failure is easy. Losing one's job and/or home is a gut-wtenching tragedy. But knowing that there is nothing you can do that would cost you your job or your home is an even greater tragedy. It eliminates the imperative for innovation that has driven the growth of our country.
If we care about people, we should care about economic growth. It is the engine that has lifted the entire western world out of poverty. It is what has separated the western world from the rest of the world, and it is the idea whose adoption has fueled those non-western countries that have grown up out of poverty.
Elimination of the opportunity to fail is elimination of the growth engine that has created our prosperity.
Eliminating the freedom to fail eliminates the freedom to succeed.
- Owen Handy
As much as I enjoy hearing your responses and anonymous personal attacks I feel a need to defend myself.
-I would have to completely disagree with Flygirl:
“That’s a crock and you know it.”:
I don’t actually think my theory is “crock.” In fact I think socialist experiments such as the USSR, Cuba, North Korea, and China have proven it repeatedly.
“blatant attention seeking prose”
I enjoy writing, thinking about the world, and discussing that world with others. My apologies if that qualifies as attention seeking.
“One person’s failure is another’s success.”
Zero-sum politicopersonal-economics is a relic of The Cold War era. One needs only to look at the current economic crisis for proof. Like everyone else, the top three world billionaires lost a combined 68 billion dollars in the last year. In today’s world of mutual dependence, one person’s loss leads to another person’s loss.
“Political policy is no representation of the heart and soul of our country.”
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is the soul of our society. Is their any greater document of political policy than The Declaration of Independence?
-In response to Anonymous #2:
You’re right I have not lost my home or my job. The idea however, is based on a the concept of opposites, you cannot have one without the other. For example, the experience of joy is dependent on interludes of despair. I have indeed experienced my fair share of despair. Still, I would not have you limit the joy in my life to spare me its counterpart.
Peter,
The world misses your blogging exploits! Come back!
Chris
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