We Are Not “In this Together.”
Here is a poem about man’s right to his own property.
The Individualist
We are not “in this together.”
We are not a family.Your money is your money;
Your responsibilities are yours.
My money is my mine;
My responsibilities are mine.I do not own you;
You do not own me.
You have no claim to my life;
I have no claim to yours.If you say, “We are all in this together,”
Then you are surely a collectivist,
And your mentality (or lack thereof)
Is partly to blame for the current crisis.Close your damn mouth,
And get the hell out of my way.
Addendum:
That’s a poem, not an essay. Today many Americans believe they are facing problems so great that people should no longer have their right to their property respected. Leftists are jumping for joy that they are finally able to convince people we need a single, universal solution to everything, and that solution is the state.
There is a limited sense in which every American is in the same mess together with every other American. That mess is a virus, and the name of that virus is collectivism.
And yes, we are all experiencing a quarantine lately. That’s a shared experience. But we are not really in it together, are we? We are in it as individuals and as families. We are all experiencing similar sets of inconveniences. But we are not in it together, if by that statement you mean we are a single family with a single fate. We aren’t.
A question from a friend: Would you say your post about individualism and collectivism reflects what the Bible teaches? It at least seems like the Church is “in it together”…
My reply: The teaching of the Bible is that each person owns his own property. That’s the point I’m highlighting.
While there are many cases in which we morally ought to help other people, and especially those who are of the family of God, this does not mean it is right for the state (or anyone) to treat people as if they had no right to their property.
More information on these topics:
Become a Christian Defender of Reason, Individualism, and Capitalism:
Get our latest book for free when you subscribe
Get full length exclusive podcasts when you support us on Patreon
