Liberals and personal responsibility
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I don’t know if this is a rant, but here it comes: It’s been my experience that the liberals I know are, for the most part, very responsible people. What I don’t understand is why these folks don’t require that same personal responsibility from the “downtrodden.” It seems they want the government to do everything for those less fortunate than themselves. Is that because they are trying to alleviate some kind of guilt feelings, or do they believe that everyone else is not as capable as them and therefore needs a helping hand? And why do they always want to use my hard-earned money to give that helping hand?
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February 10th, 2006 at 6:29 am
Not sure I even know where to start. Are you the father of six kids? Have you lost your job and your pension recently? Don’t know where the mortgage money is coming from? Find yourself living in a shelter with your family because you lost your job and you’re over 55 and nobody wants to hire you? Are you a single mother (not by choice, but the SOB walked out when you got pregnant)earning minimum wage as a waitress trying to pay rent and child care?
Are you a Christian? Have you read any part of the Bible? Does the idea of ‘help those who can not help themselves’ ring a bell? How about ‘help those who have less than you have’. Anything yet?
Do you farm? Tax dollars help you. Do you own a large oil company? Tax dollars help you too. How about Haliburton? Work for them? They rake in millions a year.
And you don’t want to help a single mother trying to go to school and work receive food stamps? You don’t want to help the father with six living in a shelter because he’s too ‘old’? And heaven forbid we help a war vet sitting in a wheelchair somewhere wondering where his life went.
Ain’t it terrible those bleeding heart liberals want you to chip in to be a member of a Democratic, caring society? We’ve seen how the ‘All for Me and Mine’ mentality of the Republican ‘compassionate conservative’ works. Cut school funding; cut breakfast programs that have been proven to increase grades; cut Medicare; cut food stamps; cut every social program there is - but make sure to get tax cuts passed that help the top 1% of the country more than any other segment. Great idea. I’ll proudly stand as a bleeding heart liberal ANY day.
February 10th, 2006 at 8:41 am
I’m the father of 3, not 6, because I know I can’t support 6 (personal responsibility). I have lost numerous jobs in different fields, yet was able to find another each time, and have never had a pension, making up for my lack of a company-sponsored parachute by investing meagerly but wisely (personal responsibility). I am not 55, but I am getting to the age where I won’t be able to continue with my current profession, so I have started a home-based business (foresight & per. resp.).
Whether or not I’m Christian is irrelevant, but have you read the Book of Job? In Proverbs, King Solomon says the Lord will not let a good man starve, and that a wise man makes hay while the sun shines, while a shameful man misses the opportunity. How about “God helps those who help themselves?” Any of this ring a bell? You can’t use only the parts of the Bible that suit your needs.
I don’t farm, but I have relatives that do, and I still don’t see what sense it makes to pay farmers NOT to grow food. If you want to get rich in oil, start your own oil company.
I have no problem with welfare of a limited nature, say 5-7 years/person for life. I do object to paying for women, especially teenagers, who are having children so they can get money from the State. I do object to paying people who won’t work so they can spend their time victimizing those around them.
And you picked the absolutely wrong person to make a comment to about helping America’s servicepeople. Suffice it to say if it weren’t for those willing to give their lives, we wouldn’t be the country we are today, so back off on that.
I didn’t use “Democrat” for a reason, and I’m not a Republican. Any more, those parties are becoming as one. As I implied before, I think one of the big problems today is a lack of personal responsibility. Life is hard. S**t happens. All you have a right to is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as long as you don’t infringe on those same rights of others. If you want something more, do something about it. don’t ask me to do it for you. If I never require of my children a certain accountabilility for their actions, they will grow up to be selfish, irresponsible adults. This is what I see liberals doing to those less fortunate. And treating people like that only reduces their self-esteem, telling them that they can’t possibly pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, and continuing the cycle of welfare.
As far as I know, no one has proposed cutting “every social program there is.” And if you want to get the tax cuts that the rich get, get rich. The people who pay the most in taxes get the biggest benefits from tax cuts.
I learned a saying in my new business: “I will do today what others won’t so I can live tomorrow like others can’t.” Don’t get mad at people because they are willing to make the sacrifices that you won’t.
February 10th, 2006 at 8:45 am
So anyway, why do liberals seem to not require the same personal responsibility of others that they require of themselves?
February 10th, 2006 at 9:47 am
I have thought about this for years and I finally set out to educate myself about all of this after suffering, for no reason or fault of my own, a chronic illness that keeps me from working full time. Bottom line is, the playing field is not level. I agree with making prudent, cautious choices. I disagree with relying on welfare or other entitlements for no good reason, and I see that people do it. (I am a nurse) So, I think I have enough in common with Rock Stone to understand where he is coming from.
What I had to learn was that in many situations, things don’t start out equal. Sure, our culture claims to be color/race/gender/ability etc blind but we all know it isn’t. I got into better higher education simply because I had better schools as a child. I didn’t do a thing to “deserve” that better education. I had good nutrition from conception and throughout my childhood, something that vastly increased my ability to learn and behave appropriately. I was not running on junk food sugar nor was I hungry and dealing with low blood sugar. I didn’t miss school from repeated illnesses or because my parent was passed out and didn’t get me up and to school regularly. My teeth are straight and white and presentable. My grammar is correct for professional situations, including interviews. I saw what is deemed “appropriate” professional behaviour all my life - what to wear, what to say, how to behave. This stuff doesn’t just come naturally. In fact, my dreams and aspirations were probably vastly different than those who can’t even IMAGINE the kinds of things I was raised to believe I could have.
Our standard of living is very expensive, requires a huge amount of skills and education to even navigate, and those of us who grow up surrounded by at least some opportunity, as well as certain colors of skin, ways of speaking, health, etc, start out with more advantage than those who start out with not as much. That’s all.
Certainly choices, especially in America, make all the difference. We here are very lucky in that way. But I think those of us who have been the recipient of much good fortune and privelidge cannot evidently seem to even imagine what life might be like in the absence of such unearned privelidge.
So, I do make choices to help level the playing field when I can.
February 10th, 2006 at 10:12 am
Elizabeth spoke to the point much more eloquently than I did. In my scant ‘examples’ I was merely pointing out what circumstances cause some people to need a helping hand every now and then. I also am not for promoting a life time of dependence on public aid. But I think there are times when circumstances, sometimes beyond anyone’s control, causes them to need help. I know we all make choices, and I agree we have to live with them. My example of a woman raising a child alone didn’t mention age, Rock assumed a teenager. Unfortunately, tens of thousands of women of all ages find themselves raising children alone. And it isn’t always their choice. Unfortunately, not every male that impregnates a woman is responsible either.
I was only trying, and poorly at that, to point out the wide diversity of needs in this country. And I agree with Elizabeth - some of us have more chance in life based on the color of our skin, where we were born, our parents, etc. etc. Life isn’t always perfect and predictable. Sometimes it knocks us for a loop. My personal feeling, obviously, is that for me to be a ‘good’ citizen and live in the kind of country I want to live in that helps those in need, then I have to be willing to do that. I’m not sure why Rock assumed I wouldn’t make sacrifices if needed. My whole point is that I will in order to live in a society that takes care of ALL of its citizens, not just those we choose to like or agree with.
I do apologize for the reference to the Bible. I hate it when people use it as a weapon, and then I turned around and did it. No excuse, and again I apologize.
As for the Republican remark - I made that because of the stereotypes in our country. ‘Liberals’ are usually thought of as Democrats; that would leave the other party of Republicans. I also let my frustration of the past few years show.
As to why we don’t demand ‘personal responsibility’ from others that we demand of ourselves - I think it’s just that we understand that there are times when, no matter how much you plan and work and struggle, there are times when you may need help. As a neighbor/citizen, I don’t want to turn my back on those in need. I also hope I don’t point an accusing finger at them and tell them it’s all their fault.
I’m sorry for making you so angry Rock. I fumbled badly with a lousy rant - sorry.
February 10th, 2006 at 12:12 pm
Soni, I’m sorry if I came across as angry, which I’m not. I am, however, very adamant about not wanting to pay for someone who is perfectly capable of doing for themselves.
My reference to the teenager comes from a separate rant about babies having babies when it took so long and so much for my wife and I to concieve.
I think we just might have a difference of opinion of “those in need.” I will absolutely help someone if I think they are trying to help themselves or if there is no way they can. For example, the guy standing at the freeway exit with a “help me” sign doesn’t get my dollar, but the guy charging me a dollar to paint my house number on the curb gets two.
And the type of sacrifices I was talking about people needing to make are buying clothes at the Goodwill, not giving a cell phone or Playstation to each of their kids, disconnecting cable TV…generally getting rid of most non-essential expenses so they have the money for the essentials or to help them through the rough patches. I didn’t mean to imply that Soni wouldn’t make sacrifices if needed, the “you” was a generality.
Elizabeth said that the playing field isn’t level, which goes along with life being hard. It is not my intention to belittle Elizabeth’s illness, so please hear what I’m saying: I have no problem pointing an accusing finger at someone and saying it’s their fault that they are not trying to better their position. What do they need from me to help them help themselves get back on their feet and back to being a productive member of society.
I have always been a team player, so a big part of my rant is not that entitlement hurts me personally, but that it can be like a cancer that can destroy our society as a whole. Personal responsibility isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the right thing to do for the good of all.
Soni, Elizabeth, I’m all a-tingle. Thank you for the opportunity to engage in a fine discussion, something I’ve been sorely lacking of late. I look forward to hearing from you again.
February 11th, 2006 at 1:04 am
“Ain’t it terrible those bleeding heart liberals want you to chip in to be a member of a Democratic, caring society?”
Actually, I think banding together to help our fellow man is a wonderful and noble endeavor.
It’s when it’s forced upon us at gunpoint* that it becomes intolerable.
I wanna be pro-choice on ALL the hot-topic issues (abortion, guns, taxes, religion, etc.)
INCLUDING the choice NOT to participate if I don’t want to.
-MMM-
*And if you DON’T think it’s NOT at gunpoint, you’ve never run afoul of the IRS/Inland Revenue/whatever. I have.
February 16th, 2006 at 2:50 pm
I think it’s because our society is two-faced. We ask young people to avoid sex, yet we flood the air waves with it. We tell them to eat responsibly yet the air waves are flooded with pictures of food. We flood them with the things we all want and only a few can afford. I’m a fatalist, it’s too late to save the world now, fifty years ago maybe, but now we’re embedded with greed, lust, sloth, well, you get the picture.