Anomaly?

I just finished reading Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. One thing struck me as odd. Mr. Krakauer called it an anomaly that Chris McCandless would lampoon Joe Biden and praise Regan. However, Chris was clearly someone who wanted to prove he could live on his own, he didn't want all of the safety nets our society provides. He wanted to prove he could live without Social Security, unemployment insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, Public Schools, FEMA, and all other forms of welfare we entrap ourselves in. Few people can really say that they "made it on their own". And now that we are surrounded by government bailouts it is even less likely that they ever will. It seems we all have become paralyzed about what might happen if we have to step out side of our comfort blanket. Perhaps we could all learn something from the letter McCandless wrote to his friend Ron:

So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism. All of which may appear to give one peace of mind but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventure spirit within a man than a secure feature. The very basic of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon. For each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, Ron, you must lose you're inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter sketer type of life. That will first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life, you will see it's full meaning and it's incredible beauty. And so, Ron, in short, get out of sulton city and hit the road.

So with 2009 approaching and all the looming talk of layoffs and depression maybe we can pause before crying for help and leaping into the nearest safety net, and take a page out of Chris's book to let our adventurous spirit escape...Just make sure you don't starve to death.