WELFARE DESTROYS THE HUMAN SPIRIT
We all need help from time to time. We turn to family. We turn to friends and loved ones. We might turn to our churches. There is nothing wrong with that. We are all human. Sometimes we just need a hand-up. What no one needs is a hand-out. There is a world of difference between the two. A hand-up might be finding a friend a job or loaning them some money until they get back on their feet. A hand-out would be giving this person money and not asking to repaid ever. A hand-up might involve going to a soup kitchen and working and receiving a meal for your effort. A hand-out would be going to a soup kitchen and demanding a meal without giving anything back in return. A hand-up might include graciously accepting clothing donations. A hand-out would be expecting those donations to be designer labels and then complaining when they're not. It is actions but it is also attitudes. It is the decisions we make on how we want to live our lives.
I believe that we truly appreciate items that we have worked hard for. I believe that when things are given to us, and I'm not talking about gifts, there is less value in these items. The work environment is set-up to reward good behavior and good choices. When a person earns money by working a job, any job, there is a satisfaction that comes with that. There is a sense of pride. There is a sense of the can-do spirit. Even if you hate your job, you still have the honor of being able to provide for yourself and your family. If you lose that job and are no longer providing for yourself and your family, there is a part of you that is crushed. You will do anything to get back on your feet. The human spirit demands that you take care of yourself and those that you love. It does, at least, if you have worked and you have done for yourself.
The whole welfare system is set up to reward bad behavior. I know that there are some stories of people being on welfare and then becoming extremely productive citizens. I am not talking about these people. They looked at welfare as a hand-up not a hand-out and did something about their situation. Remember, it is an attitude as well. I'm talking about the people who accept welfare and don't have any plans or desires to get off welfare. I'm talking about people that have food donated to them because they are hungry, but won't even assist in the cooking or the cleaning up. They have an attitude of, "I deserve to be given food." instead of "Thank goodness someone cared enough to help me when I'm down." The person who thinks, "I deserve this food" has no human spirit. How can they? How can they expect other people to work and for them to reap the rewards? How can they feel pride in allowing others to always do for them? How can they know that sense of accomplishment when finishing a hard day's work? How can they feel the satisfaction of receiving a paycheck? They can't.
There is no human spirit involved in receiving a welfare check. You can have human spirit and receive a welfare check though. If you are looking at that check as a hand-up and not a hand-out. If you look at that check as a short term solution. Unfortunately, too many welfare recipients see that check as their means of making a living. There is no pride felt. There is no shame felt. There is no human spirit left to feel either emotion. The longer a person accepts something for nothing, the easier it becomes. The longer a person accepts something for nothing, the more they expect and demand it. This is today's welfare system. The longer someone works and provides for themselves, the easier it becomes. The longer someone works and provides for themselves, the more they expect and demand to be able to provide for themselves. This is the human spirit. Welfare destroys the human spirit.
