Due to a week of card playing in Okoboji, both blogging and cruising the blogosphere has been spotty at best. A day of nursing a cold, however, is aiding me in catching up on both.
This post by Captain Fishsticks echoes a theme that is dear to my heart, too: that of self reliance. If you read the comments to Craig's post, I think you will see that some appear to miss what I believe is Craig's underlying point. That is, particularly those of my parents' generation believed in the concept of self reliance; one was responsible for self care.
Are there times when we are unable to care for ourselves, and need help from family, friends, charity and/or the government? Absolutely. Yet if our mindset is that we resort to this care only after multiple and strenuous efforts on our own to rectify the situation on our own first, society at large will be in far better shape.
Craig's issue of pointing to the adverb "stubbornly" is apt. People who do their all to be self sufficient assess their finances, and cut down on discretionary items to meet costs for basics. This is an admirable characteristic; not one to be castigated or mocked. I'm sure that neither I nor Craig wish for people to go hungry so that they can pay fuel bills. Still, there is a gap between that and immediately expecting the government to step in and provide a nanny state so that people no longer need to be responsible nor concerned about their own needs.
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