The following is an excerpt from “Longing for Belonging and the Lure of the State” by Ryan Messmore at the Heritage Foundation…
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Longing for Belonging and the Lure of the State

by Ryan Messmore
Backgrounder #2063

English poet and essayist Samuel Johnson once said, “To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition.”[1] In referring to happiness at home, Johnson was identifying a goal that one does not pur sue privately, but rather together with members of an intimate body. The wisdom of Johnson’s claim lies in its recognition of a fundamental human longing for a sense of membership or belonging. People draw iden tity from their participation in communities of pur pose, whatever form they might take.

What is the proper relationship between the national government and this longing to be a part of a meaningful body? For the past several generations, the United States government has become increasingly involved in the everyday lives of citizens as it has absorbed functions and authority that used to lie with smaller social institutions. Consequently, the sense of belonging and status once found in those smaller groups risks also being transferred to the state.

Since the colonial period, multitudes have come to America because of a hope that their families, churches, and other forms of community could thrive within its borders. Americans have long valued and given allegiance to this nation precisely because they valued other institutions and forms of life that flour ished under freedom. Citizens therefore rightly unify in appreciation of the U.S. government for protecting the local institutions and communities with which they most identify.

However, looking too expectantly to the state as a source of identity and social solidarity—that is, as a single national community centered on the federal government—can erode the sense of America as a nation of communities centered on family, friend ships, and faith.

Man’s search for membership, belonging, and community identity plays a major role in his rela tionship to the federal government. Whether that government is expansive or limited will depend on whether or not citizens’ longing to belong is met through other communities….

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