Image via WikipediaWhy is that you suppose? I don't know. Answer that and you'll likely win a Nobel prize. What good will knowing that do? About as much good as giving B.H. Obama one of those prizes probably. How you treat your poor, on the other hand, speaks volumes. The reason it does is because it shows your understanding of human nature. Take the old adage, "If you give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. If you teach a man to fish, he'll eat for a life time." A lot of truth in that. But lets look a bit deeper. If you give a man who has nothing, a fish, first of all, he'll expect it to be cooked. I mean, what sort of savage would eat a raw fish! Sushi aside. Second, if you ever read "
Who Moved My Cheese", there's a corollary there of "Holy Crap! I Found Free Cheese!" Those sneakers work both ways my friends. Once the now cooked fish is handed out, at least an attempt will be made to see if it is done more than once. Once done twice, it becomes expected. The mice will keep checking. Why not? They're not idiots.
When the government or charity provides "free" cheese, the mice figure it out in no time and a demand is born. Demand is the key word. Once provided, it will begin to be critiqued. "This 'cheese' is not up to standards! We mice deserve better! You filthy rich should be ashamed dumping your low class cheese upon us! We should have the same quality cheese you do!" Ah, the tug of the heart strings. The clamor to provide at least "as good as we got" for those less fortunate. I've seen it. I've seen it in my own family. Very close family at that. "I deserve better. The world OWES ME!"
Except we don't.
And that's hard.
Hard especially when it's your own. It's a helluva lot worse than having to put down your own pet because you couldn't afford the "$100 go to sleep" medicine. Would you throw you own daughter out because all she did was sit around turning food into feces? I've seen that done. It's hard. It's gut wrenching in fact. Your choice? A leach for life, draining the blood out of you, your spouse, and your dreams. Or one last chance. Fly or Die. I can't help you any longer.
Charities of old had a huge say in who they would help. The reason? Human nature. It's the low end of human nature to mooch as much as possible. It's about the most selfish and self serving we ever become. To take and not even try to improve or better yourself. That is why the old philanthropist had rather strict criteria on who they would help. But that's not FAIR!, cry the heart strings. No, it's not. But it will help those who will eventually help themselves. The rest won't and likely never will. You can't rule out the eventual epifiny. That will only be experienced though, if what they see is an endless stream of never getting better with the path that they are on. Hope will spring eternal, but not in this miserable spot.
Teach a man to fish. He'll either learn, or go back to his hovel and bitch about how damn hard it is to fish and how you have to clean them and cook them and how much work is involved and how much easier it is to go to the "gimmi more" shelter and get the cooked food fercrissakes. I mean, what the heck is this, a job? Yes, in fact, it is. I do it too.
Don't misunderstand. There are many that cannot help themselves. They deserve our utmost charity. They, however, if they are capable of understanding, will be grateful for it because they are well aware they would die otherwise. Likewise, we know to not do so would be a horrible crime. Where is that line drawn though? I do not know as it is ever moving and gray with shadow.
I do know this though. Only the man willing to learn to fish, will be taught to fish. That man will again join the ranks of society. He will be grateful for the opportunity and will grasp it. He may need help more than once but he'll try.
The other will go for the free cheese every time...
