Declaring Our Independence

For over 20 years, one party across Delaware’s executive, judicial, and legislative branch have produced the single mindset of expanding government in our state. By increasing the dependency on government, and in doing so taking the place of and limiting the impact of non-government entities in our communities, we have seen a decline in the very principles that have created a high quality of life in Delaware. The judicial system has focused on the rights of criminals over victims by telling our law enforcement to ignore violations of harassment in our communities, allowed violence and drugs to permeate our streets and public schools, and created an environment where a vast majority of teachers, as stated by a recent DSEA survey, feel unsafe in the classroom. In our schools, proficiency rates continue to hover under 40% in English and 30% in Math, and our businesses lack the workforce needed for critical economic sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and technology. Instead of the valuing a collective history and ideas that created our state and our country, political ideology is creeping into our classrooms. With inflation continuing to hurt already struggling families, our lawmakers refuse to look at proven simple economic solutions, like reducing taxes on families, overtime pay, and small businesses.

Government Overreach has Caused Dependency

At the root of this mindset is a continuing philosophy that those in government feel that any societal problem can be solved with the intrusion of government. They have sold the idea that government must be the solution to every challenge families and individuals are met with on a daily basis. This thought has become so prevalent that many now seek government to solve simple problems that were easily addressed by individuals just a generation ago. The overreach has become so normalized that this year a State law was created to fine anyone whose dog barks more than 15 minutes continuously. This idea for the bill came from a single complaint from a resident but now applies to residents across the state. Without even knowing, constant government intervention into our daily lives has created dependency. As we seek the government to take care of all of our problems we have started to lose the very basic societal skills that help us resolve challenges in our daily lives.

Whether the continued encroachment of more government in people’s lives is out of a legitimate concern for those that are less fortunate or is a grasp of control by the government, the end result for families and individuals will be the same. A complete loss of self-determination and even a loss of the basic skills that each of us needs to lead a reasonably meaningful life. When government entertains the idea that they can remove all of the challenges from daily life, people will become dependent, see no need to build basic skills that are critical for everyday living and lose purpose in their daily labors and pleasures.

If we hope to make any reasonable movement on the issue of economic prosperity, public safety, better performing schools, and a better quality of life, the march towards dependency needs to be reversed. To accomplish this, government must create an environment where families and individuals find independence over their lives. Once individuals discover the ability to overcome the challenges in their lives, they will acquire the capacity and skills to succeed over future challenges. The path forward is intimidating because we must not only change this government’s philosophy but the very nature of organizational structures. The desire for every organization and business is to grow, become more influential, impactful, and create more of a sustainable future. In government that gets its consent from the people however, we must fight the urge to grow in order for our communities and society to sustain a more prosperous future.We must remember that the more independent the people are, the better our society can thrive and as a result the less government people will need to survive.

At every turn, our government should be asking, how do we create an environment for our people to become more independent? With more independent people, our communities can build a lasting foundation for future generations. They will be prepared to take on challenges and turn them into opportunities for growth and lessons for future innovation. These strong communities in turn will rely less on government, for they will have the resources to give outwardly to the people around them that need help and show them ways they can be empowered to meet their own challenges again and again.

Creating Independent Thinkers

We must start with a robust education system that teaches kids not what to think, but how to think. When young learners understand how to innovatively solve problems instead of checking boxes, they become confident in their own ability to solve challenges in many different areas of their lives. They need mentors and to learn about great American icons that overcame impossible odds by challenging ideas of the status quo. They need to read great literary works that allow them to think about the philosophical questions we have strived to answer for thousands of years, like the existence of God, independence, justice, and virtue. Kids in all communities are uniquely brilliant and have the capacity to use their imagination to see big ideas. We need to capture that energy and foster their entrepreneurial spirit. The bottom line, we need to teach kids how to think independently, how to question texts and ideas, and form their own hypotheses based on experience, their own experiments, and data. When we favor memorization over intellectual fervor, we lose. Independent minds will bore the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs needed to take on our most complicated challenges.

Creating Independence over Dependency

Let us take a look at the individual level now. A person that is dependent in the truest sense, one struggling with drug addiction. Continuing a mindset of dependency, the State has reduced the seriousness of drug crimes, ignored long-term solutions to rehabilitation in favor of public Naloxone programs, and has even made an federally illegal drug legal in Delaware last year. Culture has made drug use not only acceptable but has normalized it in schools and made it a focal point of all forms of media. The result? More and more people struggling with addiction, broken families, and broken lives when the party is over.

The State needs to ask the question again, how can we create an environment of independence for these individuals? If the State seeks to eliminate all of the real consequences that come from drug use in people’s lives, while at the same time not giving them the ability to overcome the addiction, it will harm the very people they aim to help. Removing all natural consequences will only lead to more addiction. The State must realize that the best path forward is to first partner with individuals that want to make a change in their own lives, and then to be prepared and open to others when they make the incredible decision to change their lives. Showing those addicted to drugs what a life independent from addiction looks like and the steps to get there will produce success even when it takes multiple attempts and daily challenges. A detoxed body cannot be the end goal and a clear mind that can objectively make rational choices for their own future self should be the goal for real progress. Empowering the individual to become the agent of change, the breaker of generational curses in some cases, will cause impacts that ripple through their family and community. We must empower the individual to be the solution to addiction, not the State.

Creating Independent Families Strengthens Communities

When it comes to families, one of the largest struggles is personal finances and over time the State has made it more difficult for fiscal independence. As elected officials celebrate regulations and mandates on small businesses, claiming it helps put more many in the pockets of working people, they are committing economic suicide by engaging in political class warfare. When the State mandates that businesses pay more for their services without the free market being the economic marker, prices on common goods rise to meet the government regulations and the money which people earn is worth less. The money the workers make is less valuable and at the same time they are taxed more on their higher pay. Simply put, when government tries to manipulate the free economy, the economy corrects itself and the consumer always pays while the government profits.

When people are struggling to pay bills, the State needs to ask how can we create economic freedom and independence for those living check to check. History has shown that when government reduces its own take from the people it governs, not only does the economy prosper and ingenuity and innovation thrive, but the government also brings in more revenue. This can be simply done by reducing tax burdens across all levels, eliminating taxes on overtime work and reducing the gross receipts tax on small businesses. When families are living paycheck to paycheck, they wisely spend only on needs and the economy is stagnant. When families are able to obtain more of the money they work for, they have the ability to invest in local businesses outside of the bare necessities. It is at this point that the economy starts to grow. Jobs are created and innovation brings unforeseen prosperity. Economic independence for the individual creates families that can strengthen communities against challenging times.

Individuals must become the Change Makers

In every aspect of life, families and individuals prosper when they are given the independence to choose their own path forward. When government becomes the first and only solution in the lives of families, they become dependent, lose skills and resources to build their own future and start to lose independence for the next generation. We must remain diligent in creating an environment where families and individuals can become independent in every facet of their lives. We need to empower people to be the change makers in their own lives. It is difficult to see people struggle, but with guidance, individuals and families will build the very skills, mindset and discipline needed to be successful now and through future struggles. They will become stronger human beings that will in turn reach back into their families and communities and be the force for generational change. Let us not create dependent people, but empower our people to be leaders to a brighter future.