Introduction

The venerable Merriam-Webster dictionary offers the following definition for compassion: “Sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it.”

By alleviating it, we must--must--mean supplying the needed relief, stabilizing the patient in medical terms, along with helping the person, the patient again in medical terms, through motivation and training, to then live a full and independent life whenever at all possible. Promoting policies that would have any tendency to make people dependent upon either private charity or taxpayer largess is deeply wrong for that person, all the others like them, and all of society. And in the name of compassion, that is exactly what we are doing with increasing frequency and scope. And we are creating an ever-growing disaster. 

That is the subject of today’s episode.

Continuing

Pause for key definitions:

Hand-outs. This approach to so-called compassion which provides continuing assistance without the motivation and training required for the person you are assisting to be able to--and want to--become an independent and contributing adult. This approach is lazy and long-term destructive. This is the very definition of mis-directed compassion.

Hand-ups. This much more difficult approach that includes--emphasizes--helping others to become an independent and contributing adult requires more of our personal time, and less taxpayer money. Remember, governments, no matter how much tax money they collect, are terrible at motivating. And long-term, this approach produces people who have good cause to be pleased with themselves and their contribution, and creates a healthy and growing society. Growing in the right way and in the right direction. 

Today’ key point: We need hand-ups, not hand-outs. But the hand-ups require us, you and me--to get personally involved. 

John Ray, in 1670, cited as a proverb "Hell is paved with good intentions." Even earlier than that, it's been attributed to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153), as "Hell is full of good intentions or desires."

“The road to personal, societal and national hell is paved with mis-directed compassion in the form of continuing hand-outs.” Will Luden, 2019

Question: What are our intentions? 

Do politicians want effective and productive long-term solutions, or do they simply want to hold office long-term? Do any of them honestly believe that making everything from healthcare to education to food and housing (with more to follow quickly) free for life will create a hard-working and well equipped society? A society ready and able to take on the frequently serious issues facing us personally and as a whole?

Do we want to follow paths that will require us to do the work, the continuing hard work, to become our best at being productive and contributing citizens, or do we want reasons--excuses--to take easier paths?

Let’s draw some useful parallels here. Here are some commercial pitches we have all heard:

Diet: “It’s not your fault, it’s genetic. Take this pill daily, eat your normal diet, and you will lose weight. Millions already have. What are you waiting for?”

Exercise: “Skip the gym. In just minutes a day, do these few simple exercises and be amazed as you drop weight, gain muscle and feel better than you have in decades. And take our muscle-building supplements.”

Money (1). “We know what the credit card companies aren’t telling you. You don’t have to pay for the products and services you bought; call us and watch us reduce your obligations to something you can handle.”

Money (2). “Don’t let the IRS hound you for the money you owe. Call us and we can settle your debt to the government for pennies on the dollar.”