Honest work penalized; sloth rewarded

What a great country we live in!

Go to war for your country, get old and get wounded, and you cannot even get into government housing. But have five children by as many daddies that you can find, and not only will the government give you a place to stay, but they will feed you, too.

Work hard for that big company all your life, get old or sick - and they lay you off or try to get rid of you as quietly as possible with as little compensation as possible. But don't work at all and do nothing but fill out welfare paperwork, and get food stamps, unemployment and even housing if you are pitiful enough.

Be a war veteran with a bad back or bad limb, and get thrown out on the streets as a handicap burden on society. But be overweight with a bad back and get a disability check for the rest of your life.

Open a small business to help bring harmony to the community, only to be forced out in a few years by that big company by eminent domain, putting you right back where you started from.

Do a great deed for the community and they might print your story on the back page.

But commit a grievous crime and become a front-page sensation.

Sure, this may be a better place than most, but just like most commercials, not even close to what's advertised - especially if you are one of those who just likes to work and go home every day. If people do not start standing up for themselves and stop relying on government, this list will only get longer.

If you don't get it by now, you are either one of the people on the above list, or just don't care.

Chris McCain, Hephzibah