Hand Up Not a Handout

In today’s world it seems as if everyone is looking for a handout, or bailout if you will. What everyone really needs or wants is a hand up not a handout. We hear about large banks and corporations all getting a bailout from the federal government, and wonder “ Where’s mine?” It seems unfair that corporations, that squandered their earnings and made bad decisions, should get any extra money. When the rest of us are left seemingly holding the bag. The fact is it’s not right. It’s corrupt and we all know it.

When I was a child my parents were what most would consider poor. Their parents before them were well below the poverty line. I myself do not make that much money compared to most. We have always made our own way in life one way or another however, despite the odds. For generations now in this country we have held the dignity and the freedom that our destinies are shaped by ourselves, and not from some unseen far away entity. We make our own way beholden to no one. That is the American spirit and what truly has set this nation apart from all others throughout time.

Today’s economic crisis has everyone in a panic wondering where his or her next paycheck is coming from. Shall we give up our independence for a quick payday that will get us to the next day or shall we be defiant with no promise of tomorrow? What exactly should the role of government in this mess be, and what should be left up to us? For the answers to these questions we need only fall back on what we all learned as children.

We have all heard the ancient proverb “ Give a man a fish you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime.” This has never ringed truer than it does today. In today’s world people are lost, feeling that the skills that they once held are no longer good enough. So, they look to the government to help them pay their bills. This is wrong. What they need is education. People need education that will actually help them in the long term.

The true strength of this country has always been our ability to adapt. We are the embodiment of Charles Darwin’s theory personified in an entire nation. Darwin stated” It is not the strongest that survives, but the one easiest to adapt.”  We continue to adapt to any situation, as to date. We educate, innovate, and then dominate whatever environment we are given. That is the essence of Darwin, and what we as a nation need to continue. We need little federal assistance in doing this. However, government does have a supporting role to play.

The government should provide increased grants for education. We need to reeducate the public to live in the twenty-first century, and be prepare for the challenges that are to come. Bailouts are short-term fixes. Education is long term. Any stimulus should be heavy on education grants and light on the temporary bailouts. The only way we will get out of the fix that we are in is to figure out a better way of doing business. The best chance we have of doing that is to have as many people educated in how things actually work as possible.

Government does have a role to play in the crisis we face today. It is not to hand out money to who ever say they need it. It is to realize that the world has change and provide a means for the population to adapt as necessary. People should not depend on the government but use it as a tool to adapt a changing world. Government is a tool and not the machine. This should never be forgotten. One would not replace their