Rugged Individualism

I grew up around people that had the "John Wayne, Arnold Swarzenneger, Bruce Willis in the Die Hard series genetics in droves". What was it like? It was pretty terrifying to be honest with you. But, now I have grown up it is in my genes too. When I was little the same things that terrified me about the men in my family I have come to understand. Without Rugged Individualism civilization just doesn't happen. And even if you really only need that quality about 1 time out of a 1000 or less. Still, it is what makes civilization work and survive worldwide.

I was talking to my wife about this today. And she was saying her first boyfriend in some ways was a lot like me in college. She was an RA in a dorm in a famous Southern California 4 year college and her boyfriend on his Triumph motorcycle hit a deer on Mt. Baldy Rd. while he was riding it up the mountain for the thrill of driving that mountain road as fast as he could at night on a motorcycle. However, a deer sprang up in front of him and so he wouldn't die he laid the bike down. But, because the motorcycle went under the deer the deer didn't survive. However, her boyfriend had some scratches and bruises. But he also felt (at 18 or 19 and a responsible college student) the obligation to "Use the meat" of the deer that he had accidentally killed in order to honor properly the death of the deer. So, he tied the bloody deer onto his back and rode his Truimph back to his college dorm to have his girlfriend (my now wife) to dress the deer in the basement of their dorm.

However, you know how rumors are, this kind of story becomes an urban legend attached to the college just like the naked runs through the campus that were also a part of the times with a bag or mask on with groups of 100 or more students doing this all at once.

My wife told me of meeting someone recently from her college and being told the deer story and being sort of horrified that my wife was the actual person who dressed the deer for her boyfriend. But, she said the deer never did taste right and was always sort of gamey tasting when they later bled it out and dressed it and cooked it. Rugged individualism?

Actually, I don't know what I would call that other than kids just trying to do right by an animal that died by accident.

But, I think you get the general idea. People who are rugged individualists don't follow rules. They are what made this country great and we need them desperately these days of slowly bleeding out all the heart and life of our country that you see these days.

Learning to make your own tools, think your own thoughts, do your own thing no matter what anyone else does or says is what has always been great about this country. One of the ways this manifested is how "Chain of Command" became an art in the U.S.  In a country of equality where people actually feel that Anyone can actually potentially become President at some point this equality makes amazing things actually happen. You have seen many movies and read many books when the General or Admiral of an Army or Navy is killed historically and everyone retreats because he is the only brains of the outfit. Well, the U.S. quickly became the first country not to be like this. We instituted Chain of command that went from the Highest General and Admiral down to the lowliest corporal or private and then we just laughed at our problems and never gave up. That's why in some ways we are the last big "Veteran Army" continuing to be on earth today. We are very good at winning both battles and wars and God help anyone who comes up against our veterans in action anywhere. And this is a direct result of two things, Equality and the rugged individualism of Americans in general.