Personal Responsibility

In The Book of Genesis, we are told the story of Adam and Eve, how they disobeyed God's command, and were punished for their sin with banishment from the Garden of Eden. He told them not to eat from the tree of life. The devil convinced Eve it was okay, and she in turn also fed Adam the fruit from this same tree. When confronted by God, Eve blamed the serpent, and Adam blamed Eve. Did God punish the serpent, the originator of lies which led to them eating the from this tree? No, he punished Adam and Eve because they, knowing God's Commandment, chose to disobey it. He showed them that for their actions there would be consequences.
Today, as we progress further from that time, and seemingly further from God Himself, this lesson is becoming increasingly lost on us, his children. Like the original human beings, when caught having done something we shouldn't do, we tend to blame others for our mistakes. And when we don't get what we want, we tend to look to others to provide it for us instead of taking personal responsibility and attaining it for ourselves. We disguise our wants and our lack of will to get it, by proposing rights that are due us.
Some examples include taxes, laws, healthcare and social welfare programs. Sure, we all like nice roads to drive on, working water/sewer systems, fire/police protection. Taxes for these purposes are great, and are usually found through usage taxes and property taxes. Although it seems when it comes time to foot the bill, we feel others should pay for it instead of us. Oftentimes, especially around elections, we hear about how evil the big corporations are and that THEY should pay for all of this for us who are less fortunate.
A lot of people demand their "right" to healthcare, paid for by the masses. A lot of people who advocate for this, themselves do not pay taxes, or pay very little. Granted there are those who have massive amounts of wealth who agree with the proposed "rights" of these people. And oftentimes, they aren't going to foot the bill, but rather insist that the government pay the levy, in other words, charge us taxpayers to pay for the healthcare of everyone else. It's a nice thought, that everyone had healthcare, but it isn't a right granted by the law of our land from what I've read. Do we blame doctors and hospitals for making health costs and insurance so expensive that a majority of people cannot afford it? Do we blame the lawyers who drive malpractice costs up through lawsuits of any kind against doctors and hospitals? NO! I propose we blame ourselves as a society. Afterall, the doctors and hospitals are charging more because it costs more to do business now. Why? Frivolous lawsuits by people who just don't want to pay for services, or are looking for a fast buck to get rich for nothing. Do we blame the lawyers who enable these people? Well, partially. They do prey upon this mentality, but inevitably they merely reacted to a new market created for them by these people. If you fall on a sidewalk, it's no longer an accident, but the fault of whoever owns the property, and that person WILL pay, if for no other reason than to avoid the costs and hassles of a lawsuit. This approach succeeds just ONE time, and you'll see a million follow!
There is also the right for people to get housing assistance and food stamps, all paid for by taxpayers. I believe in this form of welfare to a point. I have no issue paying into a system that provides this kind of help, if the benefits go to those who use it to get themselves ahead as they work their way out of poverty. For the many that choose to not work, or work just enough to have some cash but not lose these benefits, I would prefer to see this program cut off. It's time to teach these people that if you don't work, you don't eat. If you want to eat, then by God, go to work. We've taken a program that was supposed to be a handup and turned it into a handout for those too lazy to contribute to the welfare of the very society that holds them up. The Democrats, who are often the biggest proponents of social welfare or "entitlement" programs, are essentially nothing more than poverty pimps. They allow these people to continue down a path of poverty with the promises that the U.S. government will support them. Why? Because Democrats care. What they don't tell you, is as long as you get your benefits, and they have more control of our money through the taxpayers' wallets, they own you. They care about their power. But when you get a monthly stipend from them, it sure looks like they care about you. these entitlement programs are nothing more than modernd day slavery. Welfare recipients are the slaves, and bring the democrats more money everytime you DON'T produce. Seems rather backwards for a supposedly capitalistic economy, doesn't it? Who do we blame here? I'd say 80-90 percent of the recipients. Now this may sound like I'm heartless, but trust me, I'm not. Most of the people on welfare can take care of themselves, if only they CHOSE to do so. But why should they, if we're going to pay for their life anyways. Those who are truly physically disabled, I understand, although their families and neighbors should be looking out for them, like they used to do before these welfare programs came about. These family and neighbors should be partially to blame as well, for they justify not helping because the government will take care of it. Anyone remember that saying from the Bible, "Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, but teach him to fish, and he'll eat for the rest of his life." ??? Well, apparently those of us who were taught how to fish, are left being forced to give some of our fish to others who won't learn to fish themselves.

WE see a dangerous trend forming right now. The bailout of major banks who overlent money to people who couldn't afford the loans. The possible bailout by the government of some of these homeowners who bit off more than they can chew, financially speaking. We have this "buy now, pay later" mentality. Unfortunately, we seem to buy way more now, until we can't pay later. And then we complain about everything else, looking to place blame on the government, our cheap bosses, the neighbor down the street who bought the fancy car just to show us up, when in reality the fault lay solely on us. Heck, I'm in debt, and have been for a long time. I could blame my wife for overspending our budget. I could blame high interest rates on credit cards that enticed me into the offer, and took advantage of my need to buy useless stuff. I could blame my parents for not teaching me well enough, or not loving me enough as a child. But in the end, the debt is my fault, because I failed to control my own spending. Plain and simple, I had Free Will, and I chose to use it to my own detriment in the long term, for a little short term pleasure. If I fail, I have no other place to put the blame.
I believe, no matter how detrimental it might be to these banks, the homeowners losing their homes, our economy, and anyone else, we have to be allowed to fail. Otherwise we'll never learn our lesson. We must feel some pain in order to move on. As far as the economy goes, we forgot about the lead up to the depression, and are committing ourselves to the same path. We forgot the lesson. Maybe we need to relearn it.
Just as with our children.....we spare the rod, we spoil the child. Rather than being a warning, it seems to be the rule these days. Dare to discipline your child with anything other than a timeout in the corner, and face charges of child abuse or endangerment. And now we have youths running over the rules of their parents, who stand by helpless wondering how their kids got that way. We have kids who videotape themselves beating up another kid, in hopes of a little fame through a website where they post videos. I mean, c'mon people. As a parent, I struggle everyday, hoping not to screw my kids up. If they learn one thing from me, it is that every action has a consequence. And hopefully when they are grown up, they will take this idea, and place the responsibility for their actions right where it belongs, squarely on their own shoulders. And that they teach my grandchildren the same thing, your decisions determine your path. Sometimes you succeed, other times you fail, but you learn from both, and you make your own way into the world. Don't let others determine your path for you.