A Victim Society

So I thought over what I wrote last week. Sometimes when one attempts to convey a message as potentially emotionally-charged as my previous post, the actual message can get lost. Therefore, I believe that by backtracking a bit, I can get my message across better. So here goes.

I believe that we have become a victim based society. A large portion of the population refuse to take responsibility for there lot in life. Instead, they chose to claim victim status. In the housing market, people mortgaged their houses to the hilt. They bought house well outside their means and didn't plan for the future. Then, when the "bubble" burst, they claimed that it was not their fault and it must be the "big, bad" banks.

People demand that the government provide for them, but refuse to do their part. They want a handout when what they should get is a hand up. We hear that the reason why we need to have people cross the border is that they will do jobs we won't. I don't get that, I know that if I lost my job, I would do whatever was necessary to provide for my family.

This creates a two-fold issue. First, by creating a welfare state, that is one in which the population believes it is entitled to receive all that is necessary to not just live but thrive, it removes any incentive for innovation. By creating a nation in which everything is provided to the individual, the individual loses a respect for what they have. Hard work created this country and made it thrive. By removing the incentives for a better life, I mean why would you strive to better yourself if there was no need.

Second, it creates a situation in which, since everyone is a victim, the true victims are diminished. Their plight is lessened and true justice/ progress can not be achieved. This was the point of my racism post. There are those that are truly oppressed by certain groups can not have their injustices addressed. If one was born to wealth, had everything provided for them and achieved not through hard work, but because of their social status, then they lose the right to claim to be aggrieved when things don't go their way just because of the color of their skin.

Martin Luther King Jr hoped for a world in which "people are judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character". Unfortunately, we still don't live in that world. We live in a nation in which the minority class of an individual is held as a "get out of jail free card" to be used whenever times are tough. Honestly, it makes me angry. I see good people who work hard and overcome true discrimination. Those people face those hurdles head on and achieve not because of any status, but despite it. Then I see those who use their minority status as a way to get ahead, a way to achieve without work.

A good friend of mine pointed out to me that there are two prevalent forms of racism today. One is the overt kind, these are the ones we all see and hear about. These are your Klansman, your skinheads and the like. They wear their racism out in the open. The other group is just as bad. These people coddle those who have a minority status, they believe that they must be protected and provided for. They assume that anybody who opposes these minority groups must be doing so out of bigotry, not because of any ideological or intellectual differences. By not allowing minorities to stand on their own two feet, they never let them walk. Malcolm X believe that for Black society to achieve, they must first help themselves before other could help them.

So in conclusion, yes there are those out there that are bigots. However, I would put forth that they are not the greatest danger. Usually, these types of people are overt about their beliefs. Because of this they can be marginalized and discounted. The problem is those that hide that bigotry behind guilt. They coddle, they defend, they accuse. By allowing everyone to claim to be victimised, we fail to be able to address the real issues and enact real change. That to me is the real failing of society today. How did we go from standing up for other to demanding others must stand up for us and protect us?

To paraphrase JFK, he wanted us to live asking what we can do for our country, not ourselves. How did we flip that message around?