It's the holiday season ...

... and I'd like to take a moment to examine the term “Less Fortunate”...

As in .... these people are 'less fortunate.' What are we really saying there ... that these people are where they are because the were less lucky than someone else. Not because they made bad decisions or didn't have the dedication or work ethic to get ahead, no that couldn't be it ... no ... they were less fortunate ... they didn't get that lucky dice roll that made them happy and comfortable in life.

Hogwash.

I am the sum total of every choice that I have made in my life ... I've made some bad, some good ... in any event those choices that *I* made put me where I am now. And you know what ... so is everyone else. Yes, there are some people who find them selves on the ropes due to something that happened that they didn't have control over ... there are some people that are exceptions ... but they are a small minority (that's why they're called exceptions) and even in those cases there are usually choice that they could have made to avoid or lessen the impact of the 'random' act that put them in their current situation.

"Work and acquire, and thou hast chained the wheel of Chance."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Now ... what is he saying there ... that by working you chain the wheel of chance ... in other words ... Work hard and succeed. A couple other quotes on the subject while I'm sifting through them:

"It's choice - not chance - that determines your destiny"
-- Jean Nidetch

and an all time favorite:

"I am a strong believer in luck and I find the harder I work the more I have of it."
-- Benjamin Franklin

I did not get where I am through luck ... I got where I am because I studied and worked to get there. Anyone else could have put forth the same effort and gotten there too ... and I mean ANYONE. There are too many examples of people 'rising above' their situation through dedication and hard work ... and it is insulting to their effort and achievement to call them 'fortunate.'

Does this mean I don't believe in helping the poor or the homeless? No, I believe in charity ... but when you call these people 'less fortunate' you remove the stigma of the condition ... and in doing so you hand them a crutch ... “I'm not a lazy slob who can't hold a job to save my life, I'm just less fortunate than those other people who get to work on time and do their job.” Calling them 'less fortunate' doesn't help their self-image it validates their condition ... it's not your fault, you just aren't as fortunate as others ... and in many cases lessens their desire to better themselves ... I mean after all ... what can they do ... it's just a roll of the dice after all, and they lost.

But then again ... maybe that's what the people that use the phrase actually want in the first place......