For those who understand the concept of the Hundredth Monkey Theory this may already be clear, for others please research as it is a relevant framework from which to understand our current circumstance.
When we look across our country and even speak with our neighbors it becomes painfully clear that nearly half of all those with whom we come in contact are enjoying some form of government support/benefit. While speaking with numerous folks over the past years and learning how many intricate and often insidious ways the government (a structure with an implicit necessity to self perpetuate) has found to influence and control our lives it becomes reminiscent of the experiments involving behaviors of animals and humans. We find that names like Skinner and Pavlov have poignant meaning in our present environment along with a very specific social phenomenon called the Hundredth Monkey Theory. While we have far overreached the scale of The Hundredth Monkey the wave of influence upon our behaviors may just be impossible to stop. Once we have decided that “everyone else” is gaining some benefit by allowing the government to play overlord to our lives, our tendencies are to join in the gain.
Even if we find ourselves at polar extremes on principle and belief regarding the acceptance of Uncle Sam’s offerings we still find it a bit disturbing to act in opposition to our neighbors contentment and quality of life.
So even though we may believe the ugly web of support and dependency is spun all around us we do not want to burn our friends, family and neighbors who are collecting from the coffers of others. This tendency or bias not to negatively impact those for whom we wish well affects our choices and our vote. If we apply the Hundredth Monkey Theory to our current political picture one might easily see how far past the point of no return we may have wandered. It is not a far stretch to understand that once we determine (however offensive it may be to our principles) that it may be against our own personal interest to harm or diminish the lifestyle of those for whom we care, we are close to our country’s event horizon.
Far from the charitable efforts to help those truly in need or to assist in times of calamity the continuous iv of money and influence flows from our government making us all addicts or enablers. As it was explained early on by a professor in Scotland, “Once the people have learned that they can enrich their lives by voting the goods from the treasury to themselves, our form of government will cease to exist” (pardon the paraphrasing). In a time when the politicians are so very keen to build and expand the dependency of our citizens upon the government we may have swung far past the hundredth monkey, and if so what is the “end game”? Has anyone played this out?