Were you asking this question while happily living on Social Security and Medicare. Or was it while you were driving on nicely paved highways with traffic lights to avoid accidents? Perhaps it was while you were drinking a glass of water that was clean to your government's standards. Or taking your medicine that is regulated by your FDA. Perhaps it was eating a burger that was not full of rancid meat and rat droppings, or maybe while you were safe in your home becasue your fire and police and the U.S. Military are watching over you for your safety.

Maybe you prefer that your airline pilot is a rugged individualist. Who needs federal standards for a license, or inspectors to make sure that a planes' mechanics are safe to fly? Who needs to control the patterns of thousands of planes in the sky? Rugged individualists should should just push on through and take-off and land whenever and wherever they want, shouldn't they?

Maybe you were just coming back from the VA, where your health benefits, for better or worse, are supplied by your government, while millions of your school children are given the best education in the world (America is #1 isn't it? Isn't that what you keep saying?)

You see, you are throwing out the position that "rugged individualism" is something that only the repub party has, or that somehow that's a magic definition of "providing for the common good" is your standard- and one, if you are living in The Villages, you have COMPLETELY given up for the privileges you receive through your amenity fees. Rugged individualists don't eat at restaurants, or golf in foursomes, clog, or take "tours" of foriegn countries. Rugged individualists don't take cruises!!!. Rugged individualists don't join in commmunity activities like churches, block parties or Relays for Life. Rugged individualists do not have their money stashed in government regulated IRA'S or retirement plans, they keep their money under the bed.

I'll toss it back to you.. Without the sound bites..Just what is "Rugged Individualism" in a civilized society? BTW, I have hiked the Sierra Madres, Appalachians and the Rockies, and am an Eagle Scout. I have been to the jungles of the Amazon and the markets of exotic Morocco. Never with a tour group. Rugged enough for ya? You betcha!