Quote:
Originally Posted by orwell2k
I'm more interested in the "not rich" side of the equation. Everyone loves success, and success breeds success. But what about helping those less fortunate and being part of a community. Because one quite common attitude to the poor in America is that it's their own fault. This is not unanimous, but more oft-expressed than I think it should be. The rationale is, if the poor wanted to be part of society or get help, then they could. Clearly they're poor and homeless, not from circumstances beyond their control or problems within the system, but because they don't want to help themselves out. They don't want to work. They failed, so too bad, so sad. This is the flipside of the "anyone can be rich" falacy - if you're poor, you're not trying hard enough.
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Not to be inflammatory, but apparently they're the ones who get left behind when you believe any and all responsibility in parenting should go to the parents, because you "just can't trust the government/neighbors not to indoctrinate your kids".
And when the parents are then unwilling to motivate their kids, the kids are left by the wayside, all because of the resentment that exists in the parents over being seen by the rest of society as ever so much fodder. This is not to say that this attitude is particularly productive, but that's like saying "3 year olds should know not to lash out when provoked" (and I'm terribly sorry if that sounds elitist, but I can't really say anything on this topic without offending
some group or other). The cycle is entirely vicious, but it's the way things have to be done.
Another Off-topic: I wonder how much of the behavior of the federal government is "evil" and "running rough-shod over the states" specifically because everyone believes that's what the government is supposed to behave like. Thus reinforcing the distrust the voters feel when thinking of the fed govt. I find the distrust puzzling, and unreasonable in its pervasiveness (although the same might be said of some (but hardly all) federal policies.