Posted by
Gutierrez on Saturday, August 04, 2007 6:17:20 PM
Recently my wife was telling me about an interview with a local Councilman and how he was sharing stories of having to struggle as a child and the embarrassment of using Food Stamps. I was raised in inner-city Cleveland, Ohio. My mother did what she could but ultimately resorted to Government support. We'd hide the fact we had to use Food Stamps as well, shopping in the morning or night, going into stores without my friends to avoid harassment and tease. But recently it seems popular to have Government support. Why did we as a society look down on recieving support in the past? I'll tell you why, we shouldn't have had to receive it. Hard work, sober living, budgeting and time management go along way. Everybody pulled their weight in the past, not so much any longer. So many have to pull others, its no wonder we've slowed down. Not in an economic sense, but in common sense. What are we all about? I believe America isn't just about voicing our opinion, nor our ability to become Hollywood giants who hang out with dictators. I believe America at its core is about owning property, having the ability to build success in a Free Market, and empowering yourself in-order to empower others. Let's make people feel bad about using Government support when they don't need it. Its understandable to use this support when necessary. That's why it exists, but the encouragement of abuse is something different all together. Receiving Government support cripples the individual, it doesn't and statistically hasn't helped society. Many of the same people who encourage Government support state that they believe the Government is trying to take over our lives, that the Government is taking away our rights and have no business in our day to day lives. Don't they realize that the more you ask of Government the more they can ask of you. If you borrow money from someone that person has the right to ask you what your doing with your money. Democrats and Liberals want to blame Bush and the Patriot Act, they want Americans to think terrorism is a guise to take our rights, when its their own bloated Government programs that have been taking American rights away since the "New Deal". Historians state that we would have recovered from the Depression years before we did had Roosevelt not created such drastic Government work programs. Those programs did nothing to help the unemployment rate after the fact, and it wasn't until 1954 that we began to see recovery. It is my hope that many hard working, struggling Americans won't be lead down the wrong path. The won't be used as political pawns as so many already have. It is my hope that they fight, with grit for what they want. It is my hope and belief that we are a country that loves the winner. That loves the underdog, the one who has the odds against them. But, on their own strength, or that of their family, rises up and encourages others to do the same. In all fairness though, Government Cheese, to this day, was the best processed cheese food for grilled cheese sandwiches.