I used to live in an apartment building and my next door neighbour was a nice guy. He had a good heart and he cared about the friendships that he had. Unfortunately, he had some problems. He was on long term disability because he had both knees replaced. None of that was his fault however since he had a physical ailment that caused his cartilage to wear away. His real problems were that he was an alcoholic and a chain-smoker. He was forever drunk and sometimes even did drugs.
Sometimes he would even ask me for help with his life and I would do my best to give him good
advice. He would never take my advice though, which bothered me. What bothered me even more was the fact that most of the time he asked for my help involved me giving him money for beer.
The money he received from disability was his to do with what he wished but I always felt that since he is able to have this wonderful safety net that he should be doing something to improve his life. The other problem I had was that he did nothing to give back to society as a whole but society was taking care of him while he couldn't work. This didn't square with me at all.
The Advice I Gave Him (and Now You)
To the first point, time is a resource that is just as important as anything else in your life. Wasting entire days and weeks being drunk is no way to live your life. Many times when talking to my friend I would tell him to find something constructive to do. I would tell him he had been given an opportunity to improve his life while he had the time to do it. He would talk and talk about doing something but then get drunk and never do it. His situation was temporary since the government gave him a limited time to be on disability. In the span of 3-4 years he had he could have accomplished quite a bit even with limited money but he never did.
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A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both. ~Dwight D. Eisenhower, first inaugural address, 20 January 1953
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The other reason I told him to do this is the reason behind this article and that is he should want to give back something to society no matter what it is. The society he lives in has given in order for him to have the safety net that he is currently taking advantage of. People that pay taxes and fees of all kinds may not be people that will have to go on disability but their money is still being used to help people that they don't even know. You should want to be an asset and contribute something of value back to your own society whatever that form takes.
How You Can Be an Asset
Giving back to society can take any form you want. If you fancy yourself an artist then you can produce artwork and give it away to people. Fix things like appliances or furniture. Start a blog, website or podcast. If you are a proficient writer than write something. You can literally do anything to give back something of value to the society that has helped you. If you are not in the same position as my friend then you may not owe society that much but you also have the flexibility of many other options to give back. Volunteering is an excellent way to give back. If nothing else you owe it to our current society to at least absorb knowledge and pass it on to others and the next generation.
Even though we live in a world that is the best its ever been people can still contribute positively to society to make it even better. The reason we are living in such good times is because people found purpose in life and were able to raise society up in even just small ways.
What I always say is this: society doesn't want another burden. Society and the world cant function that way. The world wants assets. Just like an asset to a sports team. You may be the star or you may just play a certain needed role but you still have to contribute. You still need to be an asset instead of a liability or else you bringing your team down. You should want to help your team in any way you can. Be an asset.
In Closing
Our society function best when everyone enters into a mutually agreeable partnership with one another. Some may question this and say it sounds a lot like Socialism or Communism but the difference is that no one is forcing you to do this and you have the option of choosing how you do it. You can choose to do anything you want based on your finances, interests and time. You don't have to go broke doing it or spend all your free time on it. Just start with something small and decide for yourself if its enough or you feel like doing more.
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