So we all have crosses to bear and obstacles to overcome. Do they stop us and give us reason to whine, or do they challenge and strengthen us as we overcome them? That, of course, is a question of character.

I teach my children there are basically 2 kinds of people in this world–trough fillers and trough feeders. Trough fillers are people who don’t let circumstances stop them (catastrophic illnesses and injuries excluded), and work to fill their own troughs as well as those of others. Trough feeders are those who show up at the trough to feed off of what others have provided, and always feel they have a right to a place at the trough. Trough feeders will always end up poor, altho not all poor are trough feeders. Trough fillers will most often be self-supporting and perhaps become even wealthy, tho not all wealthy are trough fillers.

I funnel all my parental efforts into teaching my children to be trough fillers, including trying to lead by example. I also teach them that Christian trough-fillers have an obligation and responsibility to fill the troughs of others, both deserving and undeserving, as often as possible. But they are never under any obligation to support the pathology of victimhood or self-defeat.

By the way, speaking of what works on the urban plight, got any examples?

Tiffany, I don’t dispute that at all. Each individual’s situation is unique, and some have it easier than others. This has always been true throughout history, in white homes as well as black. But what is the answer? It has to be to focus upon the positive instead of dwelling upon the negative.

Equality of outcome is the goal of liberals, but that’s not logical, practical or attainable. This hopeless mindset is part of what causes schools to fail at educating our young people. Not everyone in the class can, or should, get a passing grade. Changing standards to make that happen, regardless of actual accomplishment, shortchanges both the high and low achieving students. The ones deserving to pass don’t get proper credit for excelling, and the ones passing without deserving it are robbed of the chance for remedial actions to bring them up to speed.

Equality of opportunity is the true measure of a society’s benevolence, and the United States has that in huge measure. If there is any role at all for government to play in helping people reach for the stars, it’s primarily to stay out of the way and let them do so.

I guess I am a victim of big education and guess what I have a mother who is a unionized teacher too. I guess I’m going to burn in hell for that too, me and my BBA/MBA in finance that was obtained after I graduated from a inner city Houston high school.

I’ll wait for RedBeard to respond…

People are poor for a variety of reasons, and I don’t see it as good stewardship to give handouts to those who are lazy, when the resources should be going to those who are in need because of circumstances beyond their control.

ElCee, I say that all the time but strangely enough, some don’t read the Bible that way. See the link below – Admin

http://lashawnbarber.com/archives/2004/08/06/jesus-was-liberal/

Dell is not espousing a “victim” thought process by explaining what is truth. 40-45 years of progress does not erase the fact that some blacks, some by CHOICE and some by CIRCUMSTANCE still start out behind the 8 ball. To be quite honest so do a lot of poor white and Hispanics.

I’m trying to articulate what I really want to say and I don’t think I’m doing it well enough but I’ll say this: I’m totally in favor of self reliance and seizing opportunity. However, if you are brought up in a background where you don’t where to begin or how to take advantage of the opportunity then you are still back at square one.

Example: I talk to kids at a local high school about going on to college and steps that it takes to get in, such as the application, the tests needed and financial aid. The local school district is cutting the number of guidance counselors to the point where this particular high school has one for over 2000 students. There is bound to be some kids who have aspirations but need to be pointed in the right direction and because they don’t know where to begin, will slip through the cracks.

So RedBeard, are those kids embracing the “victim” thought process???

Before you jump in with all the usual stuff about racism still existing today, let me agree with that. Racism does still exist, but as a “hearts and minds” issue that cannot be solved with finger-pointing nor with more laws. But also existing today is unlimited opportunity. Let me ask you on which thing our attentions should be most fixed, the remnants of racism or opportunity? I’ll take opportunity every time. Wallowing in misery over past troubles and whatever present difficulties still exist is no way to get on with life.

You also called upon La Shawn, and I assume upon the rest of us who are conservatives, to answer the question “Why do you seem to be so callous to the poor…” I’ll answer with another question. Is it callous to hope for people to excel and prosper instead of languishing in the morass of perpetual dependency?

The culture of poverty was introduced when Africans were transported over here and raped of their culture and heritage.

It was reinforced, we slave owners destroyed the family structure through buy, sell, and rape of your ancestors.

It was strengthened when blacks post slavery we tossed out into “America” devoid of education, no economic base, and no access to capital, which is essential to group empowerment in a capitalistic society.

It was entrenched during Jim Crow, sustained during redlining, and held firm during “seperate but (un)equal” systems which we designed spefically for blacks in relation to whites.

But yeah…blacks weren’t victims…

So then comes along the civil rights movement, where ‘legal’ discrimination through legislative acts occurs. Laws were put in place to “tell” white people blacks should be treated equal.

So hypothetically, lets say at the moment Congress said this, mysteriously all the discriminatory practices and racist sentiments held by the majority group disappeared, something we know didn’t happen. That was only 50 years ago.

In fifty years ago, the expectation is that blacks who were locked out of the majority of wealth building through the previously mentioned structures of discrimination approved by the federal government, mysteriously become this group of people 50 years later that are healthy, wealthy and wise.

That goes against virtually every economic theory, and sociological theory out there. Self-determinism is only one variable in the equation towards eliminating poverty, and unlike your buddy Thomas Sowell, who gathered the majority of his thought from Milton Friedman, free market systems DO NOT protect the minority when the majority historically has precluding them from entering the supply chain at other levels.

What is really scary to me is this, I am an evangelical by faith and training (Grace University, Omaha Nebraska, class of ’98)…and you are an evangelical as well…

Why do you seem to be so callous to the poor, when to Christ, that was his major passion?

Sometimes I get so busy and my “stories to blog about” queue gets too big as to be manageable. Well, this is one of those times, so I’ll just link to many of them that caught my attention over the…