Brianna Derevjanik Ms.

Capon English 10 Honors 26 November 2012 When a Government Has Too Much Control

Out of many current political issues, both economic and social, and especially surrounding the recent election, one in particular has been prevalent since long before the United States was a country. This issue is the amount of control a government should have over its people and their society, and has been addressed in numerous works and articles, including Anthem, by Ayn Rand, Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., and When Every Child is Good Enough, by John Tierney. While a larger amount of government control would give everyone what he or she needs, and prevent the weak from falling behind, government should have minimal control over society. Total equality encourages minimum achievement and hinders progress and freedom in society and then, as seen in some of the above texts, we run the risk of creating a tyrannical state. To begin with, a government run society with control over all social aspects would be catastrophic to the evolution and growth of mankind. In Anthem, by Ayn Rand, all people are given an equal chance to live, leaving no room for natural selection to occur as it should. All humans of the appropriate age are sent to breed annually, eliminating factors that would generally promote growth in a species. This lack of risk results in the loss of drive to adapt and survive, and allows people to become apathetic

and never strive to achieve the best they can. In When Every Child is Good Enough by John Tierney, the author brings up a point that in government run, public schools, education is impaired by the constant fear of damaging a childs self-esteem as opposed to teaching them how to push themselves to do their best, even when they may not come out on top. Additionally, a government run society can very quickly turn into a tyranny or dictatorship. Giving a governing party too much power over its people will, in most cases, lead to complete and total control of a totalitarian nature. This is showcased in Kurt Vonnegut Jr.s Harrison Bergeron, where people are issued handicaps by a supreme authority, such as weights being attached to the most talented of ballerinas so they are no better than the rest. These handicaps prevent any person from being better than another in any way they can, and also prevent people from challenging the rulers of this society. This could happen anywhere that a ruler is given enough power to overcome the rest of the citizens. Admittedly, a government that steps in when necessary can be a positive thing. Without government and underlying laws, humans would act no differently than any other animal, and perhaps be even more self-destructive than we already are. A good government should support public services such as schools, hospitals, and fire departments, but should only forcibly intervene in any persons affairs if they are physically harmful to another persons property or body, or the environment. To conclude, a government should never have complete control over the society it governs. No person should ever be forced to live their life a certain way, or let their voice be silenced by their community.