Is Rugged Individualism Gone?

 The phrase "Pull yourself up by the bootstrap" is one that has been used an incalculable number of times. It is often quipped when describing how one should move forward from a tough position or how to respond when an outcome has not gone the desired way. In essence, it is the American Way.  But why?  Why is this an uniquely American saying?  The answer may lie in understanding the roots of this statement.

As I prepared for this blog I read a little bit on the internet about the origins of the phrase. As with many ubiquitous sayings, the exact roots are unknown. The phrase appears in a few spots around the early 1920's. There were even some references to it as part of the booting up process of a computer. I found many references to the saying being used in various ways, but the one theme I found most consistently and perhaps most interesting was this; picking yourself up by the bootstraps is physically impossible!

Why is that so interesting? Isn't this statement just a metaphor for trying hard when times are tough?  Yes and no. In a literal since the ability to physically pick yourself up by the bootstraps is impossible.  Of course we apply the more metaphorical use of the phrase today.  We often hear this phrase muttered in conversation about getting people out of poverty vis a vis government funded programs. This still doesn't really answer the question of why this phrase is applied to Americans today.

In order to understand this, we must understand the roots of families that moved and settled in this country. In particular, the idea that we could conquer the terrain and uncertainty of "the West". With ideas like Manifest Destiny and The Monroe Doctrine, Americans were moving across the fruited plain with a determination to create a life unlike any their ancestors had ever known. There was really only one thing they wanted; to be left alone.  They wanted to escape the auspices of government and to be able to self determine how to life a productive life.  This of course required a great deal of determinism and grit, unlike anything we will ever see again.

Do yourself a favor and read excerpts from William Hill's book The Oregon Trail: Yesterday and Today.  There you will encounter numerous journal entries from commoners back in the 1800's who were blazing a path across this country. Pay special attention to not only how little they had, but more importantly, how little they complained. You will not see passages asking for government assistance.  They did not demand some bureaucrat come along and save the day by providing them with essentials they needed. So what did they do? They preserved. They relied on each other.

This was a way of life. It wasn't a journey some completed simply to prove they could. This was real life Survivor. The fortitude, grit and determination needed wasn't to separate yourself from the pack and standout. Making it in the wilderness wasn't about proving that you could do it, you wanted to do it. The innate feeling of being free was enough to propel these folks to achieve things we may never see again in our lifetimes. When we reflect back on this westward movement, we should study with reverence the way in which these people voluntarily cooperated with one another. They looked past ethnicity, religion and social class.  Most importantly, they didn't feel sorry for themselves. They didn't turn to the east and pray to the bureaucracy of Washington D.C. to save them.

What, if anything, can we do to recapture this rugged individualism? Or is it that we are so far entrenched in a culture that turns to government for every single benefit, that we may have lost all ability for self reliance.  Picking yourself up by the bootstraps may be physically impossible, but in a metaphorical sense, it most certainly is not.  We must work with one another in our communities.  We must feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, find the lost.  We must love one another and know that true happiness can only be found in freedom, not in slavery to a government.