disability
fare thee well
I thought i’d just say rather abruptly that i am getting more and more fed up with government. The more i think about the way our country is run, the more i want it to be run differently. lol. the problem with this is, that in comparison to alot of people, i know NOTHING about politics so i’m not really in a place to write to governors and such telling them what I think they should do. I definitely think somewhere there is a line between being involved in your country’s government and just voicing your opinion because you want to have things your way… and i am honestly not sure which category i fit into.
Take my feelings towards welfare, for example. Some people honestly do need to be on welfare. They seriously cannot make a living for themselves or can’t provide for their family completely for whatever reason, and since no one steps up to take care of them, the government’s compensation is a pretty honest living for them if you ask me. However, it bothers me ALOT that tons of people on welfare today don’t need it… They are capable of doing work, they are capable of supporting their lifestyle and/or family, and if they can’t get a job, they at least know where to get enough education so they CAN get one. The only reason they are on welfare is because it costs them more money to get a job and be responsible than it does to stay home and not work. Once someone on welfare starts bringing in their own income, the amount of compensation the government provides goes down, and they end up with less money from working than when they were just staying home. If i were in that situation, i know for a fact i’d quit my job and live on welfare to save money - why would i work if it got me less income?
Because of the vicious nature of being on welfare in the first place, the government is expanding the lower classes. People are now dependent on welfare not because they can’t survive by themselves, but because if they try to do it themselves, the welfare system comes back at them and depletes their personal resources. I think it’s smart for the government to help with things like medicaid, or disability benefits, and stuff like that, but i don’t think the government should make a living for people. As long as the government is doing it for them, low income citizens will never be able to do it themselves, and the gap between classes will just get bigger and bigger. Part of America’s foundation in the first place is a Puritan work ethic, and welfare for all no matter what doesn’t encourage hard work, discipline or any of the things the founding fathers intended be a part of this country. I understand there are those who actually need help making a living, but surely there is a way to make it “fair” so that people who don’t really need it can’t take advantage of it (at least not as much as they are right now).
My dad and i were talking about this and he thinks maybe the welfare system would work better if welfare only applied for a certain amount of time (with exceptions). For example, someone could only rely on government funding for 3 years, and then they would have to go out and do it themselves for a period of time - unless they were recieving welfare long term, like for disability. This would also help out the problem of illegal immigrants taking advantage of government dollars at the taxpayers’ expense… Which i might write about tomorrow (that and why prisons should not have cable tv). [:
Alicia <3
more ironies - because no one likes wrinkles
So today in between subjects i was pondering how ironic situations with disabled or special needs children and their caregivers can be. For example - have you ever noticed how sometimes parents of a kid with a disability are so insistent on others treating their child normally, with no biases or anything, because it would be an insult if the child were treated like something was wrong with them? Notice also how the same parents are quick to demand all the benefits they can get for having an “abnormal” child, such as medical care/coverage, proper education and opportunities in their schools, and just recognition in general. Does anyone else find this interesting? They want their kid to be disabled until they’ve gotten all they can out of the situation, yet they demand their child receive the same social treatment as anyone else, because they’re “just like any other kid.” The situation is even MORE ironic simply because the disabled child doesn’t care at all.
Now, i’m not harping on all families with handicapped kids, nor am i just bringing up disabilities just to be abrasive. i know plenty of families with disabled kids who have a very gracious attitude about it all around. i also have a one year old sister with Downs Syndrome. I know how it feels to want your family members treated normally, even if maybe they aren’t, and i can empathize with the ones who demand right treatment and benefits for themselves. But the worst kind of discrimination i have experienced with my sister so far is also the one that crops up most often - pity. It bothers me when people apologize or try to sympathize with my family’s situation, because we are blessed to be able to have such a special kid in our house. And although i’m not in charge of finances here and i’m thankful for what benefits we do get for Anna, i would get the same pitied feeling if i took advantage of every single dollar i could scrape up from the government because “she’s a special needs kid and we deserve it.” i wonder how other people with special needs kids can ignore that feeling. To me it’s pretty simple: Yes, Anna is a special needs child. Yes, she is going to need special attention in some areas. Yes, it’s nice of the government and whoever else to help us out with that, but benefits aren’t the point and never were. No, just because we admit to her being different doesn’t mean she cannot achieve her dreams or what God has planned for her, and by george, i have a really deep belief that He is going to use her in a BIG way.
it would be nice if i could just get everyone else with disabled kids to understand how cool it is that God trusted them with a special needs kid. It’s like if someone was going to lend you a car, and you were expecting a regular old car, like a sable or something, but you ended up with a 1970 Bradley GT, or a ‘69 Camaro, or a tiny little Porsche 911, or a Geo Metro, for pete’s sake. It would seem to be worth less, because it was older and needed work, but it would have worth in other ways. it wouldn’t necessarily be shiny, it would probably be rusted out, it could be a different size or shape than you were planning on (good luck fitting six in a Geo!), and maybe it wouldn’t be able to do some things without help, but that car would have character and class like none other. Special needs kids are the same way (except smaller, and more slippery when wet) - even though they’re different and it’s not what you were expecting or maybe even wanting, they really can’t be beat or replaced. there’s too much uniqueness to each one.
and yes, i just used an anology which compared cars to small children. hmmm…
Alicia <3
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