Respect

[Aussiegunner]

There was a story about homeless US veteranson the Australian Broadcasting Commission's "Lateline" television program week or so ago. The Aussie reporter interviewed an old Vietnam vet who was living on the street because he had lost his eyesight due to Agent Orange and had turned to drugs. The reporter asked him 'Would you fight again for this country'. He answered 'Yes, I live here'. The reporter then said 'But you must feel let down' to which he sharply answered 'No, I let myself down. I can get up again as long as I live ... as long as I have breath in me".

[Blue]

I can relate to that. Talk to guys like him all the time. Its damn sad though.

[mustavaris]

Gotta give credit where it is due. In a social democracy like Finland people tend to think, even the smart ones, that the society and betrays people while in reality they just have lost their ability to take responsibility for themselves and expect the table to be ready..

[bigross86]

There's a reason only certain people go to combat units, because they have the drive and the inner strength to push through all the hardships. Doing patrols 8 hours on, 8 hours off with 3 hours of guard duty between the patrols is not easy, but someone's gotta do it, and it's got to be done.

The gentleman above can most definitely get up again whenever he wants, but it is that much easier to do it if there's a helping supporting hand

[Aussiegunner]

Gotta give credit where it is due. In a social democracy like Finland people tend to think, even the smart ones, that the society and betrays people while in reality they just have lost their ability to take responsibility for themselves and expect the table to be ready..

In Oz we are probably about half way between the US and Social Democracy ... and are heading towards the latter (unfortunately IMHO). I can't see many Aussie welfare recipients publicly taking responsiblity for their own screw ups like this, there is too much of an entitlement mentality.

The belief in self reliance is actually one of the things I really respect about Americans. The Economist did a survey a few years ago of Americans which showed that 8 out of 10 of them, even those on skid row generally thought they could make it in the end. Those of us who believe in personal responsiblity in Australia and who don't like the welfare mentality have a saying "Australians think they are poor when they are rich and Americans think they are rich when they are poor".

[mustavaris]

^I totally agree. I know Americans who live/have lived in Finland and they find some aspects of our society borderline insane, and I totally agree with them on certain issues. But on the other hand we still have a significant group of people who do not count on others when planning their lives. The welfare state is so young here and already about to collapse so..