Conservative friends of mine have a catchy slogan they are proud of: “If the government gives you something, it was taken from someone else.”

This paradigm seems so true and unassailable to them, it is hard for them to move beyond it.

I guess the slogan indicates that the whole process of government assistance always involves a theft from citizens who are not being assisted. “Progressive” government is seen as a Robin Hood who robs the rich and gives it to the poor.

On the other side of the paradigm are those who believe in community, that what we own is not truly ours, that the earth cannot be owned, and the wealth we have is as much good luck as hard work.

I believe that private ownership of property has been a key issue in our country since the early colonists encountered the Algonquian tribes along the East Coast. Like for many primitive people, the idea of personal ownership of the earth was not part of Indian thought.

I believe the issue of private ownership still divides us today and influences our idea of government.

It seems to me there are two opposing assumptions: 1a) Taxes are a theft by the state. b) We pay taxes to support our community. 2 a) The riches we accumulate are from our hard work and intelligence; no one has the right to force us to relinquish any of our wealth. We have earned it; it’s ours. b) Our community, with its laws and support, has enabled us to have wealth, and we share it with those who have not been so lucky.

This is a Donald Trump vs. Bernie Sanders conversation. As a nation, we may be close to having this discussion.

— Lawrence Dean