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October 11, 2005

HIGH-PRICED COMPASSION

"The friendliness and charity of our countrymen can always be relied upon to relieve their fellow citizens in misfortune. This has been repeatedly and quite lately demonstrated. Federal aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the Government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character, while it prevents the indulgence among our people of that kindly sentiment and conduct which strengthens the bonds of a common brotherhood."

Grover Cleveland

The number of social problems in the United States is endless, and human suffering of one sort or another limitless, so government spending will also be without limit. People are going to suffer and our government feels compelled to alleviate the pain. But pain and struggle is part of life. Suffering will always exist in one form or the other, and government can never cure it, only change it into another form.

No one escapes the struggles of life. Emerson tells us, "There is always some leveling circumstance that puts down the overbearing, the strong, the rich, the fortunate…" Furthermore, suffering and struggle lead directly to strength and growth. Napoleon Hill teaches, "The necessity for struggle is one of the clever devices through which nature forces individuals to expand, develop, progress and become strong….We are forced to recognize that this great universal necessity for struggle must have a definite and useful purpose. That purpose is to force the individual to sharpen his wits, arouse his enthusiasm, build up his spirit of faith, gain definiteness of purpose, develop his power of will, inspire his faculty of imagi-nation….Meet struggle and master it, says nature, and you shall have strength and wisdom sufficient for all your needs."

In other words, when things are bleakest should be a time when a person is forced to become more self-reliant, smarter and stronger. This is a time for ingenuity, creativity, inspiration and resourcefulness. Emerson said, "When man is pushed, tormented, defeated, he has a chance to learn something, he has been put on his wits….he has gained facts; learns his ignorance, is cured of the insanity of conceit; has got moderation and real skill."

Napoleon Hill summarizes how nature’s laws work in times of trouble. "Suffering through physical or mental pain, disappointments, frustrations, and sorrows, is the means by which one may become great or go down in permanent failure."

Government subsidies reinforce failure. They are a detriment to society. They open the door to dependence. They lure the frightened and worried into the psychological acceptance of permanent assistance. They encourage shiftlessness, cheating, cowardice and fear. Said Hill, When any individual reconciles himself to the state of mind wherein he is willing to accept largess from the government instead of supplying his needs through personal initiative, that individual is on the road to decay and spiritual blindness."

These views are nowadays considered to be heartless and barbaric. People fully expect the government to bail them out and pay for their problems. But there is a price. Something for nothing is the root of all evil in our social and political system. Nothing else can poison a culture, corrupt a society or ruin the character of the people like unearned money and unearned opportunity. Look at the people the government has helped the most, and you will see they are worse off than ever. This is the lesson that is heatedly denied. For the truth will indict our political leaders, the liberals, the media and the chattering classes.