It is what it is…

 

By Marc Chayer

 

Every night I turn on the TV to catch the news and I am never disappointed in just how many people are on there complaining about how the government didn’t do this for them or that for them. It seems that in today’s day and age we expect someone else to do the things that my parents would have looked after without notice or questions.

I think back to my grandfather and the farm he built from scratch. There was no government subsidy if things went wrong. It was just plain bad luck and, as such, he would have to find a way to feed a growing family.

I remember nights after school when I had to bring in firewood to keep the house heated. Chores were not paid with “allowance” money but were expected to be done as part of learning what life was about.

Today, kids expect a car when they are old enough to drive and that expectation is up to the parents to supply the vehicle. What? When I was old enough, I scratched and saved $300 for a Ford LTD. I then spent a year trying to get the money to insure it. It was later sold by my mom for food money. That’s just the way it was.

While I agree with the notion that our kids should have it better than we did, I also agree that there is some value in not having everything done for you. I don’t know of too many things that government has become involved with that made things better for anyone.

The fact is that we are the only ones who can control what happens in our lives and if your kid grows up not knowing how to work for this or that, expect to have a 40-year-old living under your stairs waiting to inherit your house.

Note to my daughter: On your 18^th birthday college better be part of the plan. If not, have rent money ready!

The community we call home was built by those who knew and understood that to survive, working was going to be a part of the solution. Mom, dad, government would have little to do with your ultimate success simply because they could not always be counted on to be around and, really, who wants government involved?

Today you can spot the guy who never learned what work is? He is the guy who took philosophy as a major in college and is now on the news yelling about how unfair it is that government won’t protect his rights or how business is in it just for the money.

Well, here is a secret: I am in it for the money! It feeds my family and provides a roof over our heads. If I wait for government to solve my problems, well, I will probably die poor, stupid, and ignorant or, more simply, like a Liberal.

Solve your problems and work for what you want… two life lessons that don’t get nearly the attention they deserve.

It is what it is…