Comment on David Brooks "Party of Strivers"

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/31/opinion/party-of-strivers.html?_r=1&smid=fb-share

I have much repect for David Brooks. However, his reading of the Republican Convention in Tampa is one I find quite off base. Here is a particular comment:

"But there is a flaw in the vision the Republicans offered in Tampa. It is contained in its rampant hyperindividualism. Speaker after speaker celebrated the solitary and heroic individual. There was almost no talk of community and compassionate conservatism. There was certainly no conservatism as Edmund Burke understood it, in which individuals are embedded in webs of customs, traditions, habits and governing institutions. "

I find this quite amazing. I think of the stories of Mitt Romney helping people who needed a hand up, and I am not sure how he can move this direction. Further, if Mr. Brooks would go back and read the speeches, he might ponder a quite different story. What I heard and read was a story of people who achieved great things, not on their own, but because of the model and inspiration of other people in their lives. Marco Rubio received inspiration from his father. The same was true of Mitt Romney. Susan Martinez received help from others to discover she was a Republican. True, the Republican Party is at this time the part that celebrates people striving for success in their lives, as they define success. What is the Democrat Party standing for? My reading of that party is that at this time, it celebrates dependence of everyone on the government.

He then goes on to say:

"57 percent of Republicans believe people are poor because they don’t work hard. Only 28 percent believe people are poor because of circumstances beyond their control. These Republicans believe that if only government gets out of the way, then people’s innate qualities will enable them to flourish."

There is probably some truth in this among many Republicans, but I disupute his reasoning. Too many people idealize and romantize poverty. To blame your circumstances on forces beyond your control is to become a victime of life, I think. One of the keyes to improvement of our personal lives is to accept responsibility and move on to making the character changes needed and the improvement of one's skill set in order to improve one's life. Frankly, one of the problems with federal government programs is that they are incapable of factoring in personal behavior as it considers the nature of the help one receives. I would urge the reader to reflect on what happens in the cycle of "persecutor, rescuer, victim" of Transactional Anlysis. To dismiss the role of personal behavior in contributing to personal circumstances does not treat the individual with the dignity and respect he or she deserves.