"I’m careful not to attribute any particular resistance
or slight or opposition to race. But what I do believe is that if somebody
didn’t have a problem with their daddy being employed by the federal government,
and didn’t have a problem with the Tennessee Valley Authority electrifying
certain communities, and didn’t have a problem with the interstate highway
system being built, and didn’t have a problem with the GI Bill, and didn’t have
a problem with the [Federal Housing Administration] subsidizing the
suburbanization of America, and that all helped you build wealth and create a
middle class — and then suddenly as soon as African Americans or Latinos are
interested in availing themselves of those same mechanisms as ladders into the
middle class, you now have a violent opposition to them — then I think you at
least have to ask yourself the question of how consistent you are, and what’s
different, and what’s changed."
This quote made me step back and really think about the role
our government has played in all of our lives. While the President's quote was about a discussion on minorities, it's pertinent to all of us. It's so easy to dismiss the government, especially at tax time. We all question what we are getting in return for our
tax dollars. We forget how fortunate we are to live in this country and pay taxes.
There are many ways that we all have received a hand-up from our government. To me there are more obvious methods of assistance such as
welfare payments, Medicare, subsidies for health insurance, and even federal
jobs. The less obvious ones that pop
into my mind are things like the GI Bill, FHA loans, Pell grants for education,
agricultural subsidies, FEMA loans after natural disasters, and even federal parks for
our enjoyment. I know from a
personal standpoint that the GI Bill allowed my father to go to college which allowed him to get a job where he and my mother could provide for 4 children to go to college. Pell grants were instrumental in helping my husband
get a college education. These hand-ups produce benefits for multiple generations.
As human beings it's so easy to fall into that hypocrite
mode at times. We may see someone using
or asking for government assistance and think to ourselves 'Get a job. No one is helping me.' NOT TRUE.
This country has helped most of us at one time or another. It's part of the reason this country is already great.
In these politicized times when it's become the norm to
complain about the government overreach and disparage others for availing themselves of
assistance, let's all try a little harder to be mindful of the help we have
received. If we want the government to
get rid of services then what are we, as individuals, willing to do to help
others? Are we willing to donate more
time and money to help our neighbors up?
Offering a hand up to fellow citizens whether through the government or
through the private sector is the right thing to do. When individual citizens succeed, so does our
country. Please think on this as you
demand change from our elected officials or when paying your taxes.
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