Promoting the nanny state

        The nanny state wants us to feel good about being enernal babies, figuratively, as well as literally. The other examples showcase some of the consequences of the cultural degradation emposed from above.

1. First up, we have the 30-year old baby.

Given that Mr. Thornton is able to determine what is appropriate attire and actions in public, drive himself to complete errands, design and custom-make baby furniture to support a 350-pound adult and run an Internet support group, it is possible that he has been improperly collecting disability benefits for a period of time," Mr. Coburn wrote in a letter Monday to Inspector General Patrick P. O'Carroll Jr.

How do you think this story panned out? What if told you it was in California? You guess it.

The following paragraph is duplicated from this post.
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A 30-year-old California man who wears diapers and lives as an “adult baby” can keep his $800-a-month Social Security disability checks, the agency ruled.
Stanley Thornton’s infantile lifestyle won him national attention after a National Geographic TV show revealed how he was spoon-fed and clad in baby clothes by his roommate and how he built furniture like oversized high chairs in his Redding, Calif., apartment.
The show prompted Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., to demand a probe of Thornton's Supplemental Security Income checks, the New York Post reported.
But in a letter to Thornton, the agency said, “We recently reviewed the evidence in your Social Security disability claim and find that your disability is continuing.”
A spokesman for Coburn told The Washington Times that the senator did not understand how "a grown man who is able to design and build adult-sized baby furniture is eligible for disability benefits."
"The problem is not with Mr. Thornton, per se, but with the politicians and bureaucrats who have coddled him," the spokesman added. "Disability fraud effectively steals from those who are truly disabled, while weakening the economy for everyone."

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I reproduced the post above in its entirety because there is little to add. The part that troubles me the most is that the decision to continue the charade came after national attention was brought to this story. It's no longer possible to excuse this situation by ignorance, or as a hasty decision made at low levels of a government bureaucracy. The latter is no longer ashamed of the moniker 'nanny-state' or what it entails.

Consequently, we can and should expect cultural degradation, accompanying the rise of dependency.
The following points are some of these consequences.

 
2. Popular culture: Rap.

When I came to US with my parents in the early '90s we used food stamps. However, we did everything possible to stop living off the dole as soon as possible. We were grateful for the support, but there was stigma born of dependence. That stigma is a healthy cultural phenomenon. Unfortunately it is being effaced both by government, and popular culture. The following is the link to 'My EBT' video, which satirizes the ease of living on the dole.


 3. Popular culture: The Muppets.

At the National Press Club (12/09/11), a 'food insecure' muppet, Lily, pitched free government food. It's hard to feed your children, these days, your EBT may not be sufficient, especially if you have higher priorities that food for your children. Fortunately, the government is here to help. If you've spent your government allowance of crack, you still don't have to worry, because your children get free breakfast and lunch in school. Isn't government great?

So, whether you're a your adult, into rap, or a child, who likes the Muppets, or a brainless adult who is parent to both of the above, you don't need to worry yourself with the basics of taking care of either. The government is here the help the entire useless lot.
 
4. What is left? That self-righteous egotism called narcissism.

On Black Friday, November 25^th 2011, a woman (with three kids in tow) pepper-sprays a crowd of shoppers waiting to buy cheap Xbox video-game consoles at Walmart. She sprays about ten well enough to incapacitate them. The rest of the crowd nevertheless surges through the open doors to shop as soon as the doors are opened. Witnesses observed it was good that no small children were present, because they could easily have been trampled, as ten more adults more suffer bumps and bruises in the commotion. The store remained open and those not affected by the pepper spray continued shopping.