Hat tip Francis Marion
Guest Post by Robert Ringer
Envy is an emotion that all human beings possess to one extent or another. It has no doubt been around since “civilized” man first arrived on the scene. But today’s envy is much more extreme than it was just a few decades ago.
I believe we are now in the midst of what historians may someday look upon as the Golden Age of Envy. I am convinced that envy is, in fact, the motivating force behind most of the world’s evils. So the question is, how did America and the Western world devolve to such a low point on the moral scale?
I believe the answer is the advancement of democracy and government, which are the twin drivers of envy. Like a parasite, envy leaches onto democracy and disfigures its noble intent, while government is its chief enabler.
That’s why the Founders were so apprehensive about democracy. They were well aware that democracy could lead to tyranny of the majority, which in turn would lead to socialism. And socialism, by definition, is a loss of freedom.
But today, it’s even worse than tyranny of the majority. What we now have is something I doubt ever occurred to the Founders: a democracy that has led to tyranny of the minority. With impunity, the minority now steals from, bullies, and makes demands on the majority to conform to its moral standards (or, more properly, immoral standards) and values.
The First Amendment is alive, but certainly not well, as it can no longer be used as a protective shield for those who are accused of offending any self-proclaimed minority. The Supreme Court, in effect, writes laws to accommodate the minority, notwithstanding the fact that it is specifically forbidden by the Constitution to do so.
Continue reading “Happiness in Our Golden Age of Envy”
