Two Views of Mankind; P.L. Poirot

TWO VIEWS OF MANKIND WHEN men claim independence, "a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes.... " So said certain Americans of 1776, re flecting such high regard for the dignity of individuals as to believe them both worthy and capable of freedom. Contrast that appraisal of man as a self-respecting and responsible being with the very dim view taken by modern "liberals" who demand government aid and con trol in nearly every aspect of our daily lives. If it's true that millions of adult American citizens are incapable of caring for and supporting and edu cating their own children, incapable of providing their own housing and their own medical care, incapable of paying the full costs of their bus and train and plane fares or the costs of highways and parking spaces for their own cars, incapable of meeting the expenses for light and heat and water and recreational facilities, in capable of operating their own farms or businesses with out price support or tariff protection or "urban renewal"

or other subsidy, incapable of looking after their own interests in job negotiations without a special grant of monopoly power from government, incapable of pro404 TWO VIEWS OF MANKIND 405 viding for themselves in periods of temporary unem ployment or in their years of retirement-if it is true that so many American citizens are improvident and ir responsible, incapable of earning their own living and unable to survive except as wards of society, is there any reason why they should be permitted a vote or have any part whatsoever in governing society? Isn't that the logical next step in the regression from citizenship to serfdom? Or, as one of the "liberal" pro fessors has revealed, "Ours is not a government by the people, but government by government." So, there are two views of man, and each of us must choose which kind he'll be: I) Man, as responsible and worthy of freedom, or 2) Man, the weakling, whose life depends on the state's permission or sufferance.