Country Road

It is funny how the same action can give you two opposite emotions.  For me driving down my in-laws driveway gives me two conflicting sets of feelings; happiness and sadness.  As Reid and I drive into the yard of his parents' homestead I get this excited feeling in my heart.  I feel like I am home. I get to look forward to a break from whatever chaos was left back in Illinois.  Then like a sick joke at the end of our stay we drive down the driveway on our way back to Illinois wishing that we were driving in not out.  And it nevers fails that when we are making our way back to Illinois we see another vehicle somewhere in Wisconsin that is traveling the same way we are, east, but has a South Dakota license plate.  Without hesitation I yell to the vehicle to turn around because they are going the wrong way, home is back out west.

Drug Testing

Flordia passed a law that welfare recipiants must submit to drug testing in order to receive any type of aid from the government.  If they can not pass the drug test then that individual and his/her family no longer qualify for assistance.  Now I am not one to be up on current events and news, but I saw a post that several people had highlighted on their facebook status regarding Flordia's decision to implement this drug testing policy.  Many people commented their approval of the law because if people can be randomly drug tested for their job then why not mandate individuals that qualify for welfare help. 

At face value I agree, I mean if individuals are going to use drugs then why should tax money go to helping them pay for food and shelter.  There is however a huge flaw with this law.  The real reason that the welfare system exists is to benefit children, disabled and the elderly.  So specifically for children if their parents use drugs and are not able to qualify for social programs then ultimately the children are denied basics like food, shelter, and I am going to go out on a political limb and say healthcare. 

Now I am not saying that we turn a blind eye to the criminal acts of others, but instead of viewing the situation with the mentalilty that I should not help those individuals who can't help themselves and continue to make poor choices, maybe instead we view it as what happens if I don't help those who don't help themselves. 

We should not care for the people in our communities because it is the cheapest thing to do, but instead help others because it is the thing we are called to do.  Plus prisons are a much more expensive alternative to social programs no matter what politicians may say.  Preventative measures are always more productive and cost effective then reactive measures.