“I am monarch of all I survey,
My right there is none to dispute,
From the centre all round to the sea,
I am lord of the fowl and the brute.”
In his poem “The Solitude of Alexander Selkirk” William Cowper (1731-1800) related the true story of a sailor who lived more than four years on a deserted island in the South Pacific Ocean marooned by his own choice rather than continue to sail on what he considered a dangerous vessel. The theme was that Selkirk came to regret his decision to be isolated.
But to me, there is another underlying and important idea expressed by the poem’s first, and most famous, line, “I am monarch of all I survey.” That describes a situation all too common in modern America, the idea that if you shrink your horizons small enough and isolate yourself and your family you will be able to rule whatever little is left. It’s an illusion of power, the monarch of nothing is nothing.
Most Americans are physically comfortable compared to rest of the world; however, America can be a very uncomfortable environment psychologically. Our dedication to freedom of expression and thirst for change means that Americans are constantly bombarded with new ideas and shifting norms, many of them strange and uncomfortable and a few dangerous.
As a nation, we also have a tendency to overestimate disappointment and danger, underestimate our resiliency, and we often fail to put real threats into perspective. As for imaginary threats, there is an endless supply. Our new national character is becoming safety above all else – safety above freedom, safety above enjoyment, and safety above challenge.
The search for ultimate safety has driven some people to shrink their world as if making it smaller and smaller will make them safer and safer.
History shows that humans do best when they are challenged and that always involves risk. Playing it so safe that nothing is ventured means that nothing will be gained. Take a chance, rise to the challenge and widen your horizons, you’ll be surprised at your own capabilities to deal with whatever life has to offer.