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"The child is the parent of the man." Should society be subservient to the needs of the individual or should the individual be subservient to society?
Human beings evolved to be social animals. There are certain rules of society that EVERYONE has to follow or else the whole thing falls apart. For example, if I knew I could steal a brand new car and get away with it, would I? I don't think I would. But a lot of other people might. If I was starving, would I steal a loaf of bread? Honestly, yes.
A society as a whole decides the things that it will or will not tolerate. We create institutions like law enforcement and government in order to (ideally) create a just society.
I feel that individuals on both the left and right wing have begun to sleep-walk through life. I agree that moderation is the key in almost anything you could name. But so is being involved. People need to care about things besides material goodies. Individuals need to look around their neighborhoods, their towns, their COUNTRY, and give a damn about something besides themselves.
Otherwise, someone is going to step into that vacuum created by society's apathy, and that entity WILL be very much like a parent - a parent none of us is going to like, either.
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