Somebody got angry because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought that Somebody would do the job that needed to get done, but Nobody asked Anybody. It ended up that the job never got done, and Everybody blamed Somebody, when actually, Nobody asked Anybody.

The story of the four individuals reflects how individuals in American society today have reached a point where many do not take responsibility for their own lives, yet want the freedom to be able to do as they please.

Americans of long ago thought of themselves as free people and therefore took responsibility to obtain their own housing, food, education, transportation, and all other needs without seeking the use of government force. They sought out help from others to get the jobs done that needed to be accomplished and/or they did the jobs themselves by paying for them with their own time and money.

They understood the concept of Caveat Emptor, let the buyer beware, and Laissez-Faire (to let alone), the non-interference of government in the lives of its citizens. It was unheard of to ask government to do anything except to make sure that every individual was protected from being intruded upon by others. It was not even expected that government would provide anything for them.

Americans of long ago understood that to govern one-self requires self- responsibility. They understood one cannot have individual liberty and freedom without individual responsibility for one's own life. Today's American, though, now looks upon government as its provider of just about everything under the sun whether it is income, housing, education, or health care.

Besides technology, the real significant difference between America of long ago and today is the attitude of individuals toward what it means to be free. Both republicans and democrats who are elected to office state that they take responsibility for their errors, but do not have to pay for their mistakes with their own time or money. For instance, instead of taking the constitutional responsibility of declaring war on Iraq thereby making themselves responsible for that war, members of congress pawned that responsibility off onto to the president and now are blaming him for how he has administered the war effort.

Likewise, the president, unconstitutionally, accepted the unconstitutional authorization and states that he has taken full responsibility for the Iraq war. However, these same elected officials, both members of congress and the president, do not have to pay with their own money the one-half trillion dollars it has cost all taxpayers so far to administer the war nor do they have to sacrifice their time and lives like the 3,000 Americans and the half million Iraqi citizens and their families had to.

The same elected officials force the taxpayer to pay for the war on drugs and the war on poverty, both of which has neither eliminated illegal drug use or poverty, but has actually exacerbated both, without bearing any personal financial burden.

When private citizens and private companies fail, they pay with their own money and time. They lose their jobs and they go out of business, but when government officials fail, they appear not to have to bear any responsibility at all for their failures even though they say they do.

When government officials become the decision makers for an individual's life, everybody then ends up thinking that somebody will be responsible when anybody could be, but in the end nobody is.

No society has ever succeeded in maintaining its freedom when the individuals who make up that society decide to shove the responsibility for their own life onto others, especially government officials resulting in being dependent upon them. By virtue of this dependency one becomes a slave and therefore no longer can remain free.

When individuals decide that they are responsible for their own life and not give up that responsibility to government such as our American ancestors, then individual liberty will flourish and the greater good will in fact result for a greater number of individuals.

Tomorrow at The Freedom Library from 7 to 9 PM the Yuma Freedom Discussion Society will review a video by ABC commentator John Stossel about education in America today. The public is welcome.