“The inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.”  ~Winston Churchill

While so many folks in Texas are confronting shortages of power, heat, water and food (Remember Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs?), it would be so easy to point fingers and identify villains. But that’s not what this article is about. Perhaps this is an opportune time to reflect on the choices we make as individuals, community, and society, and consider the implications of our individual and collective priorities.

Many will argue that this is not the time to conduct a post-mortem. So, we enter The Cul-de-sac of Inaction, like we do after so many heart-rending catastrophes. After offering heartfelt Thoughts and Prayers, we instigate an impassioned Discussion and Debate regarding the costs and benefits of imposing regulations vs. protecting individual freedoms, and we do so with great hyperbole. This is followed by the Expression of Righteous Indignation!  It’s too soon! How dare you politicize a tragedy! Instead, we celebrate the ways in which we come together to support one another in times of need. Call it The Commemoration of Compassion and Resilience. And when our Kum-by-yah comes to its inevitable close, we enter The State of Collective (Selective?) Amnesia. Rinse and Repeat until the next crisis.

So, aside from the “unexpected” arctic freeze that swept across our Southern States, what caused the breakdown of basic services in Texas and so many other states? For an answer, let’s take a peek back in history. America was founded by a pack of brave pioneers who sailed across the ocean into uncharted territories (never mind the Native Americans who had already charted much of the territory). Much has been written about the barn-raising that took place in 18^th century rural America. When vulnerable newcomers arrived, the community would come together to help build a home and lift the heavy wooden bents that couldn’t readily be raised by the heartiest of individuals. As neighbors worked collaboratively, they would share food, music and fun! But was the spirit of community truly altruistic, or rather, was it a means to enable the independent pioneer to become, well, independent?

While we can discuss the merits and pitfalls of big government (socialism?), we can all agree that there are basic functions that are best addressed by the collective rather than the individual: building roads and bridges, providing safe drinking water and power, fighting fires, educating our children, defending our country… There are times when we all benefit from working for the common good. And there can be catastrophic results if we don’t.

Texas is an exceptional state that heartily celebrates the rugged individual. Indeed, a deep streak of libertarianism runs through the heart of Texas. So why the profound outrage when Mayor Tim Boyd from Colorado City, Texas, exhorted:  

No one owes you or your family anything; nor is it the local governments responsibility to support you during trying times like this! Sink or swim… The City and County, along with power providers… owes you NOTHING! I’m sick and tired of people looking for a damn hand out! If you don’t have electricity you step up and come up with a game plan to keep your family warm and safe… Only the strong will survive… Get off your ass and take care of your own family!

Why did Boyd resign when he was merely articulating a fundamental philosophy embraced by the community, the state and even the country (America First!)?  Why did Ted Cruz get eviscerated for jetting off to Cancun, Mexico when he was merely taking care of his own?

I was trying to be a dad and all of us have made decisions … when you’ve got two girls who’ve been cold for two days, and haven’t had heat or power, and they’re saying, “Hey look, we don’t have school. Why don’t we go? Let’s get out of here.” I think there are a lot of parents that’d be like, “If I can do this, great!” That’s what I wanted to do.

Wasn’t the Senator implying the same thing as Mayor Tim Boyd:  If I can take care of myself and my family, why wouldn’t I. If you can’t, oh well. Too bad. So, where does our need to take care of our own end and our willingness to work for the common good begin? When do we step up on behalf of others? To be clear this is not a new discussion we’re having. This tension was described by the ancient Greek philosophers, including Aristotle and Plato, and it underlies almost every policy consideration and political debate in America.

Let’s see what this looks like on the Texas ground: With so many burst water pipes, the water pressure plummeted. Not only did this present a danger when fighting fires or sterilizing hospital equipment, but it caused the water purification systems to fail. A collective plea was made in some communities to reduce usage. But homeowners across the state knew that if a steady flow of water was moving through their pipes, they were less likely to freeze and burst. Maybe the neighbors would comply with the governmental request (which some argued was an affront to our individual freedom). Why would you risk the potential cost and interruption of your own water supply? 

The go-it-alone philosophy has worked extraordinarily well for the oil rich State of Texas. By foregoing the interdependence and regulations required to be a part of the federal grid, Texas developed an energy system where electricity prices are much cheaper than in neighboring states. But going it alone can lead to detrimental consequences. It’s funny how as our individual needs increase, we’re more likely to slide along the continuum of independence toward collectivism and advocate for the common good. There is no getting around the fact that we are all in this together.