Government Stockholm Syndrome via the Debt Ceiling: The politicians who hold America hostage and the Americans who love them for it.

Dave Durand: Contributor

President Obama has drawn another ominous line in the sand over the ongoing debt limit debate raging on Capitol Hill. This time, Social Security checks are on the chopping block unless the federal government is allowed to borrow more money by August 2nd. In an interview last Tuesday with CBS news, the president warned "I cannot guarantee that those checks go out on August 3 if we haven't resolved this issue, because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it". My initial gut reaction to this not so thinly veiled threat is “So what? Go ahead and cancel the checks”.

Whoa! My gut must be heartless. Well maybe it is, or maybe it is just not in my DNA to expect a handout from anyone. This healthy dose of self-realization immediately floods my mind with questions.

Why do the American people allow their elected representative to hold them hostage by threatening to cut their Social Security benefits? Why do the citizens of this country tolerate their retirement income to be used as a political weapon? Why are so many Senior Citizens angered by the federal government racking up 14 billion dollars in debt, but still advocating for the continued taxing, spending, and borrowing in order to pay for their social security?

Well… because they have to.

Their lives literally depend on it. They have bought the lie that their payroll taxes have been funding a system that will take care of them when they retire.  And why not? Over the span of their career, they have watched their money flow into the treasury every payday. Many have factored social security as a primary or the sole source of income for their golden years.

Americans that find themselves in this situation suffer from Government Stockholm Syndrome. This condition is caused by two factors colliding violently. The first is a lifetime of false imprisonment known as taxation. The second is a token act of kindness known as entitlements. These benefits are the scraps of food on the cell floor which becomes the glue that will bind the Victim to the Captor. In other words, they bind the American people to the Government.

Allow me to elaborate.

Let’s think about taxation. Do you have a choice to pay local, state, or federal taxes? Obviously not. So you are captive; held against your will to the one entity in our society that can legally deprive you of your life, liberty, and property.  This entity is government. Government that erects prisons, hires guards, and maintains the system that has become the dark, cold cell you find yourself in. The illustration becomes all too real for those who stage a jailbreak by cheating the IRS and are then literally thrown into a government built cell. Don’t try this at home kids.

So once you realize that you have been kidnapped, what is there to do but survive? This is where entitlements play their insidious role. They start small. A mortgage interest deduction here or a subsidized student loan there. Maybe a federally subsidized whirligig park here or an elementary education there.                              
                                            








A research grant for studying shrimp on treadmills here or a Social Security payment there. 

Pretty soon you find yourself relying on these seemingly small benefits that hurt no one and help millions just like yourself. Like a word of kindness from your captor or morsel of moldy food on your plate, you soon find yourself dependent on the hand the beats you. You even find yourself defending your oppressors and advocating for more and more imprisonment programs to lend a hand to the less fortunate among us.

This is where millions of Americans are today. They rely on government so much, or just enough, that when a politician threatens to stop their handout, they turn against the policy. They choose sustenance over substance. Even if they know that the policy is the moral and correct thing to do.

So how do you avoid this predicament? For me, I live my life as if I am an economic island. I demand nothing from my fellow countrymen. I make rational choices for myself and my family that allows us to remain self-sufficient. I am taxed like everyone, but I live beneath my means which affords me the greatest opportunity to live a life free of servitude. A life free from dependence on a politician in Washington DC. Free from those who are only concerned with their pursuit of power and their re-election campaign funded by millions of their kidnapped victims.