posted on Jun, 19 2009 @ 08:19 AM
Once upon a time, a few weeks back, my semi-libertarian friend and myself were having a political discussion over a bottle of wine. We are both social
liberals and agree on many things. She had a problem with "handouts", if you will; and their place in modern American society.
"Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he will eat for a lifetime".
"Agreed", I replied. "However, unfortunately teaching him to fish costs money as well so that won't work for fiscal conservatives either".
I was reading a conservative blog the other day (can't remember which one) and I came across a comment I found interesting. "Why do liberals preach
Darwinism in every aspect possible....except social Darwinism..."
Why can't liberals let people fail! Obviously if you "fail" financially, you are useless to society. I don't care who you are what you do or what
your education level is. If you don't earn money....you must be doing something wrong...
Of course, corporate bailouts are a different story. And even if you are fiscally conservative, and your hear a story of someone who has fallen on
hard times, you don't feel nothing! No, most of you, your hearts go out to those people. Its human to feel so.
Back to giving people fishing poles....what if you already know how to fish...thank you very much....but your river was destroyed in a natural
disaster!!!!
This recession is a perfect example.
These people could be more educated than you (hence more debt....) and they could be in a field that gives a valuable contribution to society
overall....probably more so than yourself. Those in Academia...nurses, teachers, paramedics, etc.
What are those people doing wrong when they face a financial crisis?
What happens if you have bad luck? You cannot help the socioeconomic standing you are born into. Sure, its not a caste system; but we all know there
are economic constraints and opportunities lost when this happens. And then, as is human nature, a "culture of ignorance" prevails. Instead of
blaming others who are "ignorant" of how to be successful, give them the tools to break the cycle. This is a fishing pole....but again, it costs
money.
Why do we need others to not fail? Would you rather live in a 20 bedroom mansion in a bad part of town....Or have a large house in a great, safe
neighborhood?
What neighborhood would others want to live in?
That neighborhood is our country.