Although it seemed to contradict a lot of what has been said so far at the Republican convention about people succeeding purely through their own efforts, Congressman Paul Ryan said in his speech Wednesday accepting the vice presidential nomination:
We have responsibilities, one to another – we do not each face the world alone. And the greatest of all responsibilities, is that of the strong to protect the weak. The truest measure of any society is how it treats those who cannot defend or care for themselves.
In some ways that sounds a lot like what the late, great heart-on-his-sleeve liberal senator and vice president Hubert Humphrey said:
The moral test of a government is how it treats those who are at the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the aged; and those who are in the shadow of life, the sick, the needy, and the handicapped.
I suppose the main difference is Ryan’s use of the word “society” rather than “government.” And what he is prepared to do (and not do) about it.
At least, unlike a former British prime minister, he acknowledged that there is such a thing as society.
Politifact assesses some of the statements by Ryan and others at Wednesday’s convention session.
Update: Ryan went on to say: “We can make the safety net safe again.” Which suggests he believes government has some responsibility for “those who cannot defend or care for themselves,” although his actual proposals suggest something different.