That is very true–Americans are spoiled from the bottom to the top. Poor in Africa or Asia or the Middle East is several orders of magnitude worse than poor in America.
The key is that “you have seen what hard work can do.” And the rumors or stories of that success are carried back to the “homeland” to entice more ambitious people to come to America to make their fortunes. There are not many success stories in the projects, the immigrant work camps or in the coal mines (lest anyone think I am advocating based on skin color). Many people do work hard in these groups (physical labor or long hours, though perhaps not skilled or educated work) and barely get by. And if you do get a little bit ahead, how do you protect yourself from being robbed by the neighbors? Police don’t like to patrol these neighborhoods.
How do you instill a work ethic when there appears to be so little gain to such hard work. If there is an uncle or grandfather to look to as a success story, something tangible, then maybe some will persevere. But Uncle is in jail and grandpa died in a mine cave in…penniless.
It is a challenge to inspire and motivate people in these groups. Compounding all the rest, there is tremendous peer pressure not to excel! It’s unimaginable. I don’t think that we just turn off the spigot for these people, though it can seem daunting to throw good money after bad.
I sincerely believe that education is the key to most of our societal ills. Other than funding schools/teachers and supervising curriculum, not sure what else a government can do. You ultimately can’t lead a horse to water….
It’s a dilemma.
