Priorities

Maybe I'm simply cruel and unfeeling. I admit it's possible. But...

I saw a picture of a woman in a news story. The woman was upset that her "benefits" were being delayed, because she needed her benefits now to pay for food and rent.

The first thing I noticed about the woman was that she was obese. The second thing I noticed was that her body was covered with multiple tattoos.

To me, it seemed she could afford to lose her benefits for a few weeks. Maybe if she had put her money into a bank – or a piggy bank – instead of spending it on tattoos, she would have money now to pay for food and rent.  But she doesn't have money to pay for food and rent, because she used her money to buy tattoos and – well, you can't eat tattoos or pay rent with them.

This isn't about tattoos, its about priorities. What do you really need? What do you need but maybe not so much? What do you not need but would like to have? Food is a priority. A home is important, but not as essential as food and water. And so on. Tattoos are way down the priority list. But there are people who have spent their money on them and now they can't afford to buy food. They want you and I to buy their food by paying the taxes that fund those benefits. 

And we will fund those benefits, because it's the right thing to do, and we are the kind of people who want to do the right thing. But there's a fine line between doing the right thing and letting yourself be used. Sometimes the line is blurred. But as long as we have a choice, and as long as we are aware that we have a choice, then, I think, choosing to help others in those self-made situations is the humane thing to do.