Two Sides Of The Coin

Current economic events have got me thinking about why there always seem to be people who need to be supported by others or the government. I know politicians love it when people look to them for help. This is how they keep their jobs, by providing support to the “less fortunate”. This is one of the many reasons that our current President got elected. He promised change and by change he meant more government support of the constituency. Promises were made for better health care, better schools, more jobs, higher wages, fairer rates of taxation, you name it and it was promised.

Unfortunately too many people have come to the belief that they cannot succeed without the help of others. It is not their fault that they are failures. There is always someone or something else to put the blame on. I couldn’t afford college or trade school, I had a lousy home life growing up, I lived in a bad neighborhood, just name the problem and they will find an excuse.

I don’t hold with these excuses, from personal experience I know that the only thing a person’s success depends on is their self. I know of a person who I will call Amanda she had everything going against her. She came from a large family in which the parents were both physically and emotionally abusive. They succeeded in pitting one sibling against the other so there was no closeness among the children. Upon graduating from high school she left home to be on her own and enrolled in a community college. With no family support and virtually no money she was able to live on her own while attending school. She did this by working and attending school at the same time. By working hard and with some small government grants for school she was able to graduate with a professional degree. She has gone on to be a successful professional and raised a fine family. The one thing that made this possible was her determination to be an independent person.

Amanda does not see herself as being very successful because she feels that maybe she could have done better. I disagree, once she started her family she always put them before herself, she is one of the most unselfish people I know. Her children know it and she has done a fine job of raising them. She has through her children provided this country with another generation of achievers. This is what I call success. It is people like Amanda that have made this country great.

On the opposite side of the coin is a person who grew up in a loving family, I will call him Rick. Rick had all the support a person could ask for. A good loving home life, sent to good schools, supportive brothers and sisters and yet almost the opposite of Amanda. He makes bad decisions and then fails to own up to them. Looked out for himself and expected others to be there for him. Rick obviously did not have the determination that Amanda had. He was more of a burden then a help to society. Rick must realize that he needs to be more like Amanda: tough, courageous, determined and above all else selfless.

That is why I believe that it is not government that can help us, it is only ourselves.