The "Less Fortunate"

We are once again entering the holiday season. It's such an awesome time of year. I have always enjoyed it, but I enjoy it even more since I have a wife that absolutely loves it, and two kids to share all the joy with. I wouldn't change a thing.

However, the holidays seem to always bring more talk about the "less fortunate". What exactly is the less fortunate? Someone answered that once by saying, "People who aren't lucky enough to have money, food, clothes and shelter." My guess is, most people would agree with that answer. But I look at it differently. The word that sticks out to me in that answer is "lucky." When people work hard and budget correctly, money, food, clothes, and shelter isn't generated from luck. It's something that is earned.

I know there are exceptions. I totally understand that.

Two things concern me about donating and giving to the lazy less fortunate: 1.) Corruption. For example, how do you know that the money you put in that basket outside the department store with the shady guy ringing the bell is actually being given to or used on someone that truly needs and/or deserves it? and 2.) Who? Should the money that I worked so hard for be given to someone that is short on money? ...short on money, because they don't have any left after they didn't work hard enough to get a decent paying job, and then they blew the little amount they had on cigarettes, fast food, and the latest DVD that they are playing on their big flat screen TV?

I've come to the conclusion that (generally speaking) it's human nature to take the path of least resistance. There are a lot of people that will simply take every inch that's given to them. This is from a 2010 New York Times article: "One in eight Americans rely on food stamps; one in four children in the United States rely on food stamps; one in 50 Americans live on nothing but food stamps."

What's crazy is that I hesitate to donate my money, food, or anything else because of these things. But I'm not a stingy person. In fact, if I know a person is truly in need of help, I will be the fist one to offer assistance; Oh you fell down, let me help you up. Oh you dropped something, let me pick it up for you. Oh you're lazy, fuck you.

Merry Christmas.