Will we return to a day of personal accountability?

14Red

Well-known member
I'd be curious to hear others feelings on this, young, not so young, etc.

We seem to live in an age where people's personal decisions don't matter anymore, and in many cases, assistance is everywhere. And don't get me wrong, this isn't a slam on the poor, and there are truly people out there who have had unfortunate things happen. My worry is we've softened the narrative so much that many people don't have the intestinal fortitude to make themselves a good life. Many of our elected leaders seem to only want to take care of people.
There has never been a time when people had it better than they do now in 2021 America. Many people pay little to no taxes. Our government gives people money to live on, health insurance, stipends for utilities, food, etc. The richest poor people in the world live right here.
My feelings are very simple, the breakdown of the family that really started happening in the 70's and 80's have put us in a place where young people simply don't know how to take care of themselves. And now those people are in their 40's and 50's and future generations feel this is the way it's always been. Meanwhile the mainstream media continues to tell people how bad everything is, and how they need to speak up. How about just taking care of yourself, building up a bank account and a life that you're proud of? There is nothing that stands in the way of a person who really wants to make something out of their lives. Thoughts?
 
 
More to my point, I would like to go back to a time when people's own personal pride would not allow them to take handouts. There was a time when people only got assistance if it was a last resort. We don't have a jobs shortage in this country, we don't have an education shortage. Everyone is guaranteed a basic education. Many don't take advantage of it. Nearly anyone is eligible to work in this country. Now they may not be exactly what you want to do, but that's on you, not the country. We have generations of people who live off the system.

Anything offered with enough insistance becomes hard to resist. For anyone no matter the pride. Once you had government employees whose jobs depended upon giving out money.....

And I think some care must be taken with the conversation. I always object when people throw out the "black" crime statistics and other indiscriminant groupings. Same here. I know many people who did at some time use assistance to get on their feet or get back on their feet. It's like those that say the quickest way to get rich is to be "white." Well, statistically more whites get rich but they hide behind the word to presume it's the "white" that made them rich. People are born into difficult situations. They do not all become movies of the week, go to Yale. But many use that assistance to get out of the environment, get what they couldn't in that environment and build a life.

How do we discuss this topic in a way that separates those honest intended folks from those who raise their children from birth with the skills to jump from one assistance program to another? This is probably my largest topic of opposition on here, how you address those that are the problem without indicting others or making them feel indicted simply because of some genetic similarity. It's unfair to do that and it would inhibit most personalities from trying. Utimately we DO respond to how we are treated or even how we perceive we are being treated by others. The Sharptons know this. They take advanate of it.
 
Anything offered with enough insistance becomes hard to resist. For anyone no matter the pride. Once you had government employees whose jobs depended upon giving out money.....

And I think some care must be taken with the conversation. I always object when people throw out the "black" crime statistics and other indiscriminant groupings. Same here. I know many people who did at some time use assistance to get on their feet or get back on their feet. It's like those that say the quickest way to get rich is to be "white." Well, statistically more whites get rich but they hide behind the word to presume it's the "white" that made them rich. People are born into difficult situations. They do not all become movies of the week, go to Yale. But many use that assistance to get out of the environment, get what they couldn't in that environment and build a life.

How do we discuss this topic in a way that separates those honest intended folks from those who raise their children from birth with the skills to jump from one assistance program to another? This is probably my largest topic of opposition on here, how you address those that are the problem without indicting others or making them feel indicted simply because of some genetic similarity. It's unfair to do that and it would inhibit most personalities from trying. Utimately we DO respond to how we are treated or even how we perceive we are being treated by others. The Sharptons know this. They take advanate of it.
Let's face it, alot of the government hand out money is simply hush money or quiet down money. Without those handouts, many of these people would be causing problems and creating log jams in the justice system. We give people enough money to keep them from causing trouble.
 
Let's face it, alot of the government hand out money is simply hush money or quiet down money. Without those handouts, many of these people would be causing problems and creating log jams in the justice system. We give people enough money to keep them from causing trouble.
Been saying it for years but my fellow conservatives on this board don't want to acknowledge the Republican role in this "leftist" conspiracy to undermine our capitalistic republic.
 
Been saying it for years but my fellow conservatives on this board don't want to acknowledge the Republican role in this "leftist" conspiracy to undermine our capitalistic republic.
At the National level and now leaking down to the state level there really isn't a two party system. It's life time politicians raping the the honest hard working tax payers to buy votes from the group that rather sit at home collecting a government paycheck.

These issues with youth have been going on for a couple of generations now. When my wife and I were DINKS(Double Income No Kids) we bought a house in Hyde Park(an older upscale neighborhood in Cincinnati). There were several families with children from toddler to high school on our street. We asked if there were any kids close to teen age years or teen agers who cut grass during the summer. There weren't any in the whole neighborhood. Damn where I grew up there would have been at least one kid making a killing off an opportunity like that.

You still have some young people with drive and initiative but it does seem like they are fewer and far between. The comments about the breakdown of the nuclear family unit are interesting. I think a study on the divorce rate and the impact it has had on social attitudes would show some interesting results. . But I do think parental attitudes and responsibilities have changed and have an impact on this topic.

I know children can survive and be successful in broken households but overall when you have a divorce rate over 50% that means that over half of all children today in the US are products of a broken family and I do think over time it creates social problems and issues. When parents quit on each other(and some probably should) they are setting an example for their children that when it gets tough just quit. I do believe that is part of the issue.

Another curiosity is how many younger adults move in together and go for a test drive before getting married. Only time will tell if this works out but it sure is a drastic switch from years ago when living together when not being married was viewed quite negatively by society. Ooooohhh God forbid you living in sin!?!?!? :eek:
 
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