There lies in America a deeply held myth. It is ever prevalent. It is a basic premise of many of our beliefs and stated values. And, it is wrong.
It is the myth of individual independence. There can be little doubt that the concepts of separateness and independence of action are illusions. Yet, far too many Americans believe that they function as totally separate entities with inalienable rights that grant them authority to do most anything they wish, albeit with some prescribed limits. They actually believe that their creative endeavors emerge solely from their individual efforts.
Repeatedly, we hear the stories of “self-made” men and women. The reality is that they could only achieve their accomplishments because they are immersed in a multitude of supportive infrastructures, ones without which none of those achievements might come to fruition.
When President Obama made the controversial statement, “If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen,” he was roundly chastised. The attacks came primarily from Republicans, who still tenaciously cling to the mythology of the independence of the “rugged American.” To be sure, some individuals do work harder than others, and therefore do achieve accomplishments that exceed those of many of their fellow citizens. However, it is a serious mistake to believe that they are the sole progenitors of their success.
It is important to understand that those efforts could only have been achieved in a country that provided the necessary infrastructure that allowed their creative endeavors to flourish. Men and women, in all walks of life, often have no cognizance of the milieu in which they operate. Like fish swimming in the ocean, they take little note of the situation that encapsulates them. In the U.S. and many other countries, much of the supporting environment is taken for granted.
No business is totally independent, nor did it arise solely in the mind of its conceptual leader. To be sure, creativity may appear to be spontaneous, but, in fact, it is built on millennia of human advancement. Any individual’s current situation is predicated on the entirety of evolution; physical, societal and technological. Currently, that includes their educational opportunities, both formal and informal, as well as the physical developments that have allowed them the opportunity to have what appears to be an independent creative thought. For a successful business, that conceptualization is followed by individual contributions and often includes hard work in many forms, often by others.
All people, but especially business owners, should be cognizant of the critical infrastructure that allows them the illusion of independent success. For example, the people of the United States have enjoyed relative physical security for the entirety of the country’s founding. The country was blessed with abundant natural resources including water (now stressed in some areas), minerals, and fertile fields that support extensive agriculture. As that environment evolved, important developments such as common transportation systems (roads, railroads, seaports, airports); energy systems, in several forms (electrical, petrochemical, thermal), are nearly ubiquitous. There is an established economic system that allows payment for goods and services; we have created near universally available education systems, and healthcare is widely available. Of course, there are flaws in all systems and room for improvement. But nonetheless, they have provided the fundamental infrastructure that has allowed entrepreneurs to flourish. Contrary to the protestation, none of them accomplished their achievements totally independently.
Over at least the past twenty millennia, human societies have continued to evolve. For the most part, success and survival were contingent on cooperative endeavors. When collaboration failed, inevitably conflicts ensued and adversarial positions were delineated by concepts of “us” and “them.” The notion of independence evolved from individual to group and even national levels. Importantly, it is the illusory concept of separateness and independence that has led to much of the strife and suffering in the world.
It should be noted that these concepts are volitional, as individuals and groups strive to identify the attributes that are inclusive versus those that are exclusive. However, as societies evolved and technology advanced, the degrees of interdependence increased and became more obvious. There can be little doubt that as trade and economics have become more globalized, the importance of recognizing those interrelationships has increased significantly.
Unfortunately, at the time these globally integral relationships become most obvious, we have been experiencing serious devolution, often brought about by those espousing separateness and independence. That observation is eminently clear in American politics today.
Those studying the role of consciousness in the physical universe, increasingly support the concept of nonlocality, as first described by Dr. Larry Dossey in his book, The One Mind. Many of us have come to believe that everything in the universe is completely interconnected at the fundamental level of consciousness.
Even more controversial would be the notion that the physical universe arises from consciousness, but that is most likely the case. This was posited by the German physicist Max Planck in 1931, and is supported by this statement, "I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness."
While the role of consciousness may sound esoteric, there are very real-world implications, ones with fatal consequences. Those are clearly borne out in the response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
One has but to look at the demonstrations in support of anti-vaccination to see the results. Proponents of the anti-vaccination stance claim that their independence is at stake and they have the right to refuse the vaccine. Conversely, at national, state and local levels, leaders have advocated for vaccine mandates as well as the wearing of masks as necessary for the health and welfare of the whole of society.
Irrationally framed as a personal rights issue, their reluctance to comply with various legal strictures resulted in a clear and present danger to the remainder of society. This is especially true in the many public school systems throughout the country.
In recent days it has become patently clear that children, who cannot yet be vaccinated, are increasingly at risk of contracting coronavirus. While the severity of cases in children has not increased, they are still at risk for transmitting coronavirus to others, especially in multigenerational families.
Confrontational, and sometimes violent exchanges regarding requirements for students to wear masks, have taken place across the country. The issue is not whether a parent can unilaterally, or even with a medically supported objection, have their child attend classes without wearing a mask. The issue is the right of society to protect its citizenry by requiring scientifically efficacious measures to be taken to support the health and welfare of other students, teachers and staff.
Whatever the intentions of the reluctant parents, they are operating under the illusion of independence, while, in fact, threatening the health and well-being of others. The importance of misinformation cannot be overemphasized. That includes both false information regarding the coronavirus, and conceptualization of their right to inflict damage on the rest of society.
If these efforts intentionally were being undertaken by a foreign adversary, it would not be unreasonable to consider those measures to be a biological weapons attack. Yet, across the country, we have tens of millions of Americans who are readily prepared to degrade the health and welfare of the rest of the country.
Contrary to their protestations, this is not a human rights issue, one that should be up for negotiation. The science community has clearly demonstrated both the efficacy of vaccines and other social restrictions, such as wearing masks, as effective measures to protect the rest of society.
The generic arguments against vaccination by the vast majority of the population are simply specious. All the adults who have attended public schools, as well as the children now enrolled, have been vaccinated for a variety of diseases. Because of those vaccines, diseases once common have nearly been eradicated from the face of the earth. While once prevalent, mumps, measles, chickenpox, and other childhood diseases ceased to be of concern. I can personally attest to the terrifying effect that polio had on my generation. That, too, has been nearly eradicated.
The reason for the healthcare success in the developed world was the pervasiveness of vaccines. Most of society recognizes their responsibilities and enthusiastically supported the measures necessary to protect everyone. There was no illusion of independence for each individual to accept or reject those measures. Rather, it was the collective effort that produced a substantial increase in the life expectancy of everyone in the past century (though now declining in the U.S due largely to Covid-19 and endemic opioid drug overdoses).
An excellent example where all these topics merge is the travesty that took place in the Hang Time Sports Grill and Bar in Rowlett, Texas on Friday, September 10, 2021. There, a young couple was enjoying a brief reprieve from parenting by having a night out. Shortly after being seated, a waitress came and informed them that they could not wear their masks in the establishment. She stated it was the management policy that no masks could be worn. They explained that their young son had a medical condition that made him more vulnerable to infections, and that they wore masks for his protection.
To the owner, an American troglodyte named Tom Blackmer, their delicate healthcare situation made no difference and they were forced to leave the premises. In several televised interviews, Blackmer made it clear that he did not believe the science that supports mask-wearing as a preventative measure for the spread of COVID-19. He went on to espouse the notion that it was solely his “blood, sweat and tears,” that had created this business. Therefore, he assumed he had the right to set any rules that he wished, including those that affected the health of others.
Obviously, Blackmer is oblivious to the various infrastructures necessary to facilitate him having a business at all. Intellectually challenged, Blackmer would appear to be unfit to be managing any establishment that impacted the health of others. Given his public statements and lack of compliance with established hygienic rules and guidance, it would seem prudent for the city or county health officials to inspect this facility on at least a daily basis and ensure the strictest compliance with all regulations. That should apply to other restaurants around the country that have adopted the life-endangering “no masks allowed” policies.
What Blackmer and many others like him demonstrate, is a fundamental lack of understanding of the interdependence of everything. The current COVID-19 pandemic has further elucidated these complex issues. Unfortunately, former President Trump, and many of his enablers, have exacerbated the situation through extensive politicization of a biological threat that has no interest in the ideological boundaries chosen by its victims.
Due to the gross mishandling of the pandemic by the prior administration, more than 680,000 Americans have lost their lives to COVID-19. In addition, more than ten million COVID-19 patients (over a quarter of the 42.7M infected to date) have long haul effects, even if they had mild symptoms initially.
Despite appropriate credit that should be given to Operation Warp Speed, many Americans, predominantly in Red States, have refused to become vaccinated. They continue to labor under the illusion of independence. Most of them assume no responsibility for their potential threat to their family, friends and neighbors, let alone society at large.
Other countries responded far better to the pandemic.* Yet, America, with an adequate supply of vaccines, continues under the tyranny of the unvaccinated, who are often misled or still subscribe to the false notion their actions are an independent choice. That assumption of independence is an illusion! It kills people and injures many more.
The COVID-19 pandemic is but one topic that intersects with the false notion of independence as it impacts others. An even greater example, also compromised by extensive false information, is that of climate change.
Not infrequently I have been accused of being a globalist. My response, for those who understand the issues, is; “If you’re thinking globally, you’re thinking too small.” It is consciousness that is fundamental to everything; it transcends individuals, groups, nations and even the world.
* South Korea diagnosed their first case of COVID-19 the same day as the U.S. To date they have had 2,434 deaths (24 Sep 2021). Based on their population of 51.7 million, a comparable fatality rate in the U.S. would be less than 15,600
