Wallace Alcorn

The chapter in "I Ain’t Got Time To Bleed" that I can recommend as worth reading is Chapter 9, Self-Reliance.

Monday, August 16, 1999

The chapter in "I Ain’t Got Time To Bleed" that I can recommend as worth reading is Chapter 9, Self-Reliance. Jesse Ventura’s preaching of individual self-responsibility is a valid concept, but his task as governor is not so much political preaching of a doctrine but leading the state to facilitate individual self-responsibility in every area.

This is the point he was trying to make on the capitol steps last winter when a delegation of MnSCU students shouted him down. They were full of demands they expect the state to meet and offered little but excuses for themselves not caring for those things. He tried to tell them that the state can help with their education, but that the primary responsibility rests with them.

He puts it this way in his book: "Up until now, their parents have been taking care of them, and they don’t yet have a good sense of what it means to take care of themselves. So they start looking around for someone else who’s going to take care of them. That’s when they turn to the government."

The governor feels this is a convenient definition of socialism, i.e., "It’s federalized money and daddy."

In the past few decades, he says, "we’ve gotten into a bad habit of looking to the government to solve every personal and social crisis that comes along." This is a serious misunderstanding of the scope of government’s responsibility. Not only are such things beyond the ability of government to provide, he considers many of these the kinds of things no government can ever regulate because they concern morals and values.

Many tax-payers will agree with this Reformed Party governor when he complains: "I find it totally unacceptable to pay almost half of my income to government." Despite our agreement, not many of us are doing anything about it other than grumble as we comply. If Ventura can change this, he will validate his election.

It is much more than expensive in terms of finance; it is costly in terms of personal freedom. He calls it "a vicious circle." (I think he means "cycle.") The more we ask government to do, the more expensive it becomes. "And the more money and decision-making power we lose, the more we lose our freedom." He wants us to "keep our government in check."

Finally, he reminds us of an old expression: "If they have to do it for you, they’re gonna do it to you."

Ventura’s preaching-like advice to citizens: "Take responsibility for your actions … When you go through life accepting responsibility and working through the tough times, you develop a solid, reliable core inside yourself that’s called character. And it will make you a better person in everything you do."

He believes that "deep down, people want to be self-reliant." If asserts that young people given a chance, "will jump at independence." As much as I would like to believe with the governor on these things, I fear he has seriously over-simplified. If it’s there (and it might be), it is so deep down it will be extremely difficult to surface it. Many youth will not jump ahead, but will need something of a push from behind.

I do agree with his conditional clause: "If they’re raised with a sense of personal responsibility and a belief in their own abilities, they’ll step forward and take charge of their own lives." However, this condition is currently being met in fewer and fewer families and communities.

I want to hold Governor Jesse Ventura to this: "It’s up to us to give them that chance." I think he has preached about the chance for self-reliance long enough. I look to him to create this chance by his executive leadership of state government.

We must carefully remove many crutches and patiently teach people how to walk on their own feet. Hoo-yah!

Wallace Alcorn’s column appears Mondays