A 35 hour drive, 5 hour energy and welfare

A few weeks ago a friend and I made the drive from northeast Tennessee to California. We left in the evening and drove straight through the night, the entire next day and half way through the following night before finally making it to our destination. We didn’t make any stops aside from filling up with gas. I took over the last leg of the trip in Kingman, Arizona just as the sun had gone down. We were 4.5 hours away from our destination and I had only gotten a few minutes of sleep during the day. Needless to say I was tired, but I really wanted to make it without having to stop. I was able to drive for about two hours before I could no longer make it on my own. I needed some outside help. Enter 5 hour energy. After taking a 5 hour energy I caught my second wind and was able to make it all the way without having to stop, but it’s important to note that after I took the 5 hour energy I was still the one that had to drive. There was no government official that appeared out of thin air to make the drive for me. I needed help, but I was still the one who needed to see to it that we get to our destination. I was ultimately responsible for us getting to our desired destination

Our welfare system was created to be a stepping stone for those that could not make it on their own and needed some “outside help.” It was intended to be a stepping stone to help people achieve what they were not able to achieve through their own power and will. Much like a 5 hour energy, welfare was created with the intent that the individual was still ultimately responsible for arriving at the desired destination in life. Unfortunately, our welfare system is no longer being used as a stepping stone. Instead of being used as a means to an end, it is now being used as simply a means. It has become a way of life. Where people used to be on welfare temporarily, it is now common place for strings of generations to permanently be on it. Rather than expanding the possibilities that people could achieve, it is now preventing people from reaching their full potentials. Welfare has indeed become a literal form of bondage. People that could otherwise be achieving so much, have been caught in the trap of contentment. Content in working a minimum wage job. Content that their families will forever be aided by those that work hard and aspire for greater things. Content that their children don’t deserve better. Content to the terms of their self imposed bondage. The welfare system has done nothing to disallow or even discourage this behavior, but something must be done. These people deserve more than having the government dictate the terms of their lives. These people deserve better than handing over their futures for a bag of mere dimes and nickels. These people deserve better, and our nation deserves better.