What’s the Matter with Them?

I come from a long, very long line of conservative Republican ‘you made your bed, now lie in it’ people. My ancestors were a pretty unforgiving bunch. You make mistakes, you pay for it. You’re down and out, find your bootstraps.

‘The world doesn’t owe you a living’ could have been stitched on my bibs.

So I get the animosity toward the concept of hand-outs. I don’t necessarily agree with it since I know there are many factors that contribute to someone’s being down and out including bad luck. I have learned that you can do everything right and fail. It’s a conundrum and unfair as hell but completely true. Deny the effect of luck and you’re a fool on your way to a cliff.

But still I get it about ‘reaping what you sow’ and all the other sayings of my growing up and so the hard edge of the…