One of the things I’ve found fascinating about that Reagan quote is his use of “men” rather than “people”.
While he surely used “men” in the generic, I’m increasingly of the belief that the erosion of freedom and liberty in the US is being driven by a culture that increasingly looks with derision upon women who are dependent upon men.
I mean no disrespect to the Lady FReepers out here, but decades of life experience tells me that women, much more than men, desire to be protected and taken care of. It’s in their nature, driven by millions of years of evolution and solidifying in a hunter/gatherer society that we may have moved beyond technologically, but are still beholden to in our DNA.
What we’re seeing are the two competing things come into direct conflict. Women are taught that they don’t need men, but they still feel the primal need to be protected.
So they look to the government, trading liberty and freedom for security. They have simply traded dependency on men for dependency on Government.
The Left knows this, and ruthlessly exploits it. Look at “Julia” from that Dem “Life of Julia” promotion back in 2012. She doesn’t need a man, but she does need something. And lucky for her the Government is willing and able to step into the void.