There’s always been more that unites us than divides us in this country. Sometimes you just have to look below the surface to see it.
A few weeks ago in Louisville, Kentucky, a truck was left dangling off a bridge after a multi-vehicle accident. The video and images are horrifying. The trailer was hanging at a precarious angle off the side of the bridge — had it gone any further, the whole rig would surely have plunged into the Ohio River below. Dangling by a proverbial thread from the trailer was the tractor, with an undoubtedly terrified driver inside.
In a remarkably short time, firefighters were able to rappel down to the driver’s cab and pull her to safety. It was a heartwarming story of people putting their own safety on the line to help a stranger in dire need.
This story represents the real America. The leftist media like to focus on conflict and division, but the truth is that this country is still made up mostly of decent, honest, hardworking people who take pride in their communities and pitch in to help one another out.
Chances are, though, that if you did hear about the heroism in Louisville that day, it quickly got buried beneath a deluge of disparaging headlines about political candidates and media echo chambers amplifying the latest mudslinging.
On the same day that the Associated Press devoted only eight paragraphs to reporting on the truck driver being saved in Louisville, the same outlet ran a much lengthier piece ominously titled, “Trump escalates his immigration rhetoric with baseless claim about Biden trying to overthrow the US.”
Other headlines that day blared that “Jill Biden puts Donald Trump on notice,” “No Labels aims to swing at Biden,” and “Pro-Palestinian protesters disrupt Jill Biden’s ‘Women for Biden-Harris’ tour.”
No wonder 65% of people feel like the country is heading in the wrong direction, according to a New York Times/Sienna College poll that was reported the same day. On top of all the problems we have in this country, we have a political culture and leftist media that escalate everything into a high-stakes, acrimonious political dispute.
With so much negativity swirling around, it’s natural that people would look for solutions to the country’s seemingly myriad problems. Unfortunately, one of the first places many people look to is the federal government.
President Joe Biden’s latest budget proposal reflects that tendency perfectly. It envisions giving the federal government a central role in early childcare, writing off more student loan debt, lowering healthcare costs by strongarming the pharmaceutical industry, expanding Social Security and Medicare by increasing taxes, increasing the federal government’s intervention in the housing market, and more.
Those may sound like admirable goals, but the devil is in the details, and politicians are well-known for making grandiose promises and then failing to deliver results. This recurring cycle of hype and disappointment breeds cynicism in people, and it creates unattainable expectations when the federal government does not have the capacity or means to implement these ambitious goals.
Big Government politicians have only themselves to blame — they encourage people to think of the federal government as a bottomless piggy bank, but responsible people know that nothing in this world is free. Indeed, while Biden’s team dubiously claims his budget blueprint “cuts the deficit,” it nonetheless projects $1 trillion-plus deficits as far as the eye can see.
The truth is, the federal government simply does not have the answer to every problem, nor the fiscal means to implement every proposal. Pretending otherwise is a recipe for disappointment at best, and possibly even calamity.
We would do well to remember that the federal government was designed to be a last resort by people who knew that our fundamental liberties come from our Creator, not the government. In most cases, the best way to solve our problems is to turn to our communities for help and support. Despite all the antagonism we see in our national politics, America still boasts some of the strongest communities you’ll find anywhere in the world.
In small towns across the U.S. local citizens give up their time to volunteer as firefighters. Churches of all denominations still provide food, shelter, clothing, and other necessities to neighbors in need. Community-based organizations such as the Elks Club, Rotary Club, Kiwanis, and many others undertake projects for the public benefit.
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None of this happens because of the federal government. In some cases, it happens despite the federal government.
We can’t give in to the temptation to look toward Big Government for the solutions to all our problems. The answer is and always has been much closer to home.
Dr. Ben Carson is the founder and chairman of the American Cornerstone Institute. John Schnatter is the founder and former CEO of Papa John’s Pizza.
