[UtahCFP]

I think some of this can be chalked up to attitudes about self-reliance. One side is well-known for efforts to expand social programs to provide <whatever> for the citizens, while the other side is well-known for (in theory, at least) advocating for less government in our lives.

If you get used to the idea that someone else is obligated to provide for you, then it isn't much of a stretch to have that include obligations to keep you safe as well. On the other side, if you have a streak in you that makes you want to be self-reliant as far as possible, then being responsible for your front-line safety seems natural.

A couple of examples:

If the garbage men go on strike in NYC, you have an emergency affecting millions within days. If the garbage men go on strike in Utah, people get miffed and then take their junk to the dump.

If the power goes out in NYC, millions are stranded and will quickly exhaust food resources, create health and sanitation issues (no pumps to get water up the high-rise buildings), and looting will start. If the power goes out in Utah, people will get miffed and cook with gas.

People in NYC must depend on government provided resources for a wider variety of day-to-day needs than people in Utah. Now, go look at a map of the red counties versus the blue counties and note how population dense areas tend to vote.

Problem is, when wide-scale emergencies are happening, government resources pull-in and protect things important to the government (see examples such as Katrina aftermath, LA riots, Seattle World Trade riots). If you are way down on that list, don't expect your 9-1-1 call to get a response any time soon. The self-reliant folks will fare better in those situations.

 

[UtahCFP]

My "Reader's Digest" version of the self-reliance vs helplessness is "somebody else will save me."

If you don't take any action 'cause you figure its somebody elses job to rescue you, then the somebody else has some form of power over you. It's a matter of degree as to how much of your own self-determination you hand over to someone else (or some goverment agency) -- just turns out that a lot of those who think we "gun nuts" are overly paranoid are also the ones who figure that some person, usually a government employee, will rescue them should the need arise.

I hope I didn't imply that a self-reliant attitude implies becoming a hermit or being anti-social. There are plenty of things that take a collection of people to pull off, like national defense fer' instance. The people I worry about are the ones who have become helpless due to conditioning -- like the ones who sat on their front porch and starved after Katrina because nobody came along to save them. Sometimes you just have to stand up and figure it out for yourself.

Clear as mud? :raisedbrow: