Here’s one for you: What was financial and ethical life like at the turn of the last century? Financially, allot more of us lived in the country. We could only spend what we saved and if we did have credit, it was at the local bank. There were no Visas or Mastercards. If the banker knew you and trusted you, you had a great credit score. If you were not trustworthy, the banker would never talk to you again.

Hence, personal responsibility! In a town of 500 with three churches and one bank, one thing is for sure, you had nowhere to hide bad behavior.

One other influence: most everyone carried a weapon or firearm out of necessity. When you met someone on the street, it could be assumed that they were armed. It could also be assumed that if you pissed off a bad dude or dudette, he or she would not hesitate to defend their honor (kinda like Bike Week in Daytona!). Consequently, the people you met on the street were very polite. It was not worth risking ones skin to bear ones soul.

So, in 1899, your word was your bond and if broken, retribution was direct and sometimes severe. That generation is long dead. The six generations since or so then, have lost those ethics born of necessity.

Now, we save nothing, spend everything on lifestyle and when we get in too deep, we expect a bailout and we get it. In 1899 you could not repair your credit score. If you failed to make a payment you literally “Bet the farm.” Now Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are expected to absorb your losses and no one that meets you on the street knows you’re a deadbeat.

Is it any wonder that many now demand healthcare, retirement, unemployment or welfare? At my age, I remember people who had hard times but refused to take handouts, they were personally responsible and it meant something. Now, legislation forgives and repairs irresponsible behavior. There is no shame left.

As a nation, we must recapture the personal responsibility of our ancestors. Without it, the slippery slope we are currently indulging will undoubtedly ruin our way of life and the security they promise will only be a promise and the ethically bankrupt will foster the nationally bankrupt.