Learned Helplessness

Okay, its time for my dark inner-republican to come out for an appearance. No, I'm not talking about the current crop of knuckle draggers running around in DC, and here in my home state of North Carolina. I'm thinking back to a time before nuts like Sarah Palin took Republicans for a hard right turn over a cliff. All the way back to Ike? It seems there was a time when they stood for self-sufficiency, personal responsibility and a let's mind our own business. Government's job was to help make these things possible.This is not the stuffed suits of today doing their lobbyists business, no matter how harmful or hurtful to everyone else. I can agree wholeheartedly with these old values.

Just because I have physical limitations, nobody "owes" me a handout. It is up to me to take care of me. I've had a lot of good fortune along the way that have given me the ability to do so. That's what the role of government, and society should be. Ultimately, it's up to me. For those, who cannot take care of themselves, yeah, it is our duty to do so.The tricky part is figuring out who can and cannot take care of themselves. I think much depends on how we are educated. There is no way I'll be self sufficient if I'm taught I cannot be. All the support in the world cannot change this. Nobody sets out to teach their kids to feel sorry for themselves (I hope not), and remain dependent all their lives. But if doctors, educators, and other professionals re-enforce the negative stereo-types of physical limitations, there is no room for a spirit of independence to take hold. It's not always this way.

The docs I had as a little kid were never discouraging, at least not to me anyway. My Mom was told not long after I was born, I'd never walk. Had my severe club feet not been corrected at Duke University, that would have been true. Also, I think just to see what I could do, my Great Uncle Frank put me in a pool. That's how I learned how to walk! Another thing I remember from childhood is learning to adapt. We were moving to the country, and I was worried I could not walk in grass. Dad said, "You need to learn." I did just fine with the new sidewalk free environment.My parents would not accept "I can't." If they did, it was rare. I was not raised perfect, but good enough to turn out independent, and an okay person. We need to focus on what people CAN do, CAN Achieve, and CAN accomplish. Thinking the other way, what people cannot do should be unacceptable.