Handouts or Holdouts?

I was sitting in my office wondering what today's post should bestow upon the masses when it was brought up that I raise chickens at home. Now in my mind, I always imagined that when people spoke of cowboys, farmers, or just everyday country folk in general, there was a certain amount of awe and respect for the people who provide your daily bread. No, I’m not talking about Mrs. Baird; I’m talking about the farmer who spends months raising a crop of wheat to sell to the granary in order for that wheat to be made into flour FOR Mrs. Baird.   Come to find out, there is little to no respect for that man in the field. It seem that most feel it is better to run to the Super Quick Stop and buy a loaf of bleached, over-processed bread than to work your tail off and make it yourself. These same folks like to make fun of the chicken farmer for raising laying hens but ask “When are you going to bring me a dozen eggs?”

That brings me around to today’s topic of choice; the general sense of entitlement held by a large portion of today’s society. We live in a time where government subsidies are the norm, and hard work is scoffed. I’m not saying that every person on government aid is milking the system, but for Pete's Sake, when you stand in line at the grocery (for those items you CAN’T make yourself) and watch the person in front of you use a LoneStar card ( our local version of food stamps) to buy their groceries, and then stand behind them in line again as they send a thousand US dollars to a neighboring country, it tends to add to your cynicism. I am not at all against helping those who need our assistance. In fact, I believe very strongly in helping those in need but I don’t believe that giving them free reign with the cash money I earned working every day is helping them.  Why can’t we make helping others actually benefit more than just the people on the receiving end? Here’s an idea; Go to the farmers in your local jurisdiction and pay them to do what they do….farm. Buy local crops, beef, pork, (and of course chicken and eggs) from these farms, and then feed the needy with it. The stipulation is, it is not free. If, for whatever reason, the recipient of this aid cannot get a job, they can work on the farm and help that farmer grow the food they are about to eat.  If they are physically incapable of manual labor (not to be confused with lazy), they can be used in the non-physical aspects of distributing food. Can’t walk? Sit at this table and collect information on the recipients.  There is something for everyone to do and country folks have been bartering this way for years. The problem is, the government has made it so easy to get something for nothing that it has stopped being aid and is now support. Only children and the elderly should be supported. Everyone else get off of your behinds and let’s earn what we have.

So to totally change directions, anyone else out there carry more than one basket to collect your eggs? Cause I put all my eggs in one basket, and haven’t had any problems yet…..

 

See Y’all Later,

The Coop