“Give me your tired, your poor, your….”
December 17, 2007
Except from “The New Colossus” engraved on the base of the Statue of Liberty:
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
- Emma Lazarus, 1883
Forgive me for posturing here, but does anyone believe that they meant for us to take care of the tired, the poor, and huddled masses? I believe NOT! I believe that they wanted to those that wanted the OPPORTUNITY to be free to come and experience it. As far as I have heard they did not give out checks to those that came off of the boat at Ellis Island.
Do not misconstrue what I am saying here. I believe we should ALL be generous and give to those in need. Anyone can have problems and need assistance or help overcoming difficulties. I am a true believer that to Give is Divine and to Give Freely is the very Mark of our Humanity. What I do NOT believe in is the thought that we should “take care of” everyone in society that does not care for themselves.
I still cannot for the life of me understand the thought that people want to be “taken care of” by someone else. Has a whole segment of the population just “given up” on themselves and their lives? What about their children and what those thoughts teach them about life, accomplishment, and personal dignity? Maybe that is the problem. Maybe a whole generation has been taught that there is no hope, no need to better themselves, their families, and the community. How have we gotten so low? What in the world can we do about it?
All good questions my friends… Oh, I am sorry, you were asking me? Well, it is a good think that I do have an opinion on the subject. How about this… If people are going to act like children and want to have no personal responsibility, we treat them as children. For instance, OK Mr. Broke Homeowner that wants the government to bail them out of the mortgage that they could never afford, you are going to be foreclosed on, your credit will be shot for 7 - 10 years, and you will be a renter in a place you can afford. You will have that amount of time to learn how to spend what you can afford and learn that every document you sign your name to has consequences involved.
OK, not as impactful as taking them into another room and spanking them, but you get the picture. If you have never heard of Darwinism and the “Survival of the Fittest” you need to start doing some research. The lesser among us are constantly being weeded out through natural progression. If you are not at the top of the “Industrious” food chain, or are not even aware that there is one, I would start looking over my shoulder because you are dinner my friend.
Very well said Barry.
I had more to say on this same topic. Please see my article “Caveat Emptor, Buyer Beware” which is posted on http://www.themortgagecorner.org.
We as a nation are being “dumbed down”. The government seems to want to take more and more control over the everyday lives of our citizens supposedly “for their own good”. Isn’t that why we are loosing some of our freedoms as well, “for our own good”.
Uh oh, watch out, big brother has a plan and that plan is becoming evident.
Our system, society, educators and politicians don’t preach RESPONSIBILITY anymore and have not for many years. Parents don’t have any as they were taught not to so how do we expect our kids to have responsibility.
If you think it is bad now, what do you think it will be like in the future. My kids and grandchildren don’t stand a chance.
I taught my kids well and they do show responsibility but with it they have now and will have even more difficulty to survive in the future.