The Obama administration seems to be proud we are a Food Stamp nation, with federal agencies running contests to get more people enrolled. How bad is it? During every month in 2012, an average of 46,609,072 people drew food stamps.
From Sen. Jeff Sessions:
“Amazingly, the federal government says that the more people we have on food stamps, the more it grows the economy. The Department of Agriculture proudly declares: ‘Each $5 in new [food stamp] benefits generates almost twice that amount in economic activity for the community.’ Our government is running food stamp promotions at foreign embassies. One worker was given an award for overcoming ‘mountain pride’ and getting more people to sign up. Where I grew up in Alabama, all honest work, even the hardest, was honored. And pride, self-respect, and a desire to be independent was valued, not a thing to be overcome,” said Sessions, who delivered the weekly Republican address.
We have lost our way. There is no shame in accepting help when one truly needs it. However, there is no virtue in being unable to independently put food on the table. There is also no virtue in being poor. I grew up in a family where money was very scarce and my father did not carry his burden lightly. Rather, he did everything possible to independently care for his family, many times doing without himself so that his wife and children could have what they needed. He was, and is, a truly virtuous man. I don’t think many people today would recognize a truly virtuous man.
