So I just took a political quiz...just curious to see what it would come up with. I gotta say this was pretty accurate (except for the fact that I don't believe in separation of church and state...I believe that a person's relationship with God can and should influence their decision making. At the same time I feel that a person's lack of a relationship with God should be allowed to influence their decision making).

The Quiz

The following are your scores. They are based on a gradual range of 0 to 12. For instance, a Conservative/Progressive score of 3 and 0 will both yield a result of social conservative, yet 0 would be an extreme conservative and 3 a moderate conservative

Conservative/Progressive score: 4
You are a social moderate. You think the progressive movement is overall well meaning, but sometimes it goes too far. On issues like abortion and affirmative action, you see the negatives of both extremes on the issue. You probably value religion, but at the same time you think it should still stay separate from the government

Capitalist Purist/Social Capitalist score: 6
You are a Moderate Capitalist. You support an economy that is by and large a free market, but has public programs to help people who can't help themselves or need a little help. Pretty much you believe in the American economy how it currently is.

Libertarian/Authoritarian score: 2
You are libertarian. You think that the government is making way too many unnecessary laws that are taking away our innate rights. You believe that the government's job is primarily to protect people from harming other people, but after that they should mind their own business, and if we give the government too much power in controlling our lives, it can lead to fascism.

Pacifist/Militarist score: 10
You're a Militarist. You believe that since the United States has so much power in the world, it has a responsibility to keep the world safe. You think that if the US does not exert its power in the world, it may eventually lose its power, and that we can not look weak in the face of terrorists, and must take them out where they live.

Personal Responsibility

You’re driving down the highway, been driving for a while. You’re many miles from home and in the middle of nowhere. But everything is fine. You’re making good time and the kids are sleep in the backseat. Suddenly, POOF! Your engine sputters and smoke begins to rise from under the hood. You dash lights glare at your, you alarms scream at you. “What the hell?” you think to yourself. Then you’re wife looks at you and says, “See, you should have changed the oil when it needed to be changed!” You want to yell back but you know she’s right. Had you taken care of your personal responsibility and had the proper maintenance done on the care this would have never happened. But…you were lazy and refused to make the time to do it.

It's been quite some time since my last post here (one week short of an entire year). Much has happened in my life in the last year, both good and bad. I've decided that personal responsibility would be a great way to restart The Kool-Aid Drinker.

In the past year I've met many, many new people. Some have been great! And others...well, not so great. One of the things I noticed between those that had a positive impact on my life and those who I would rather not meet again was the concept, and understanding, of one's personal responsibility.

Here in America, and I believe, around the world, millions and millions of people have taken hold of this misguided sense of entitlement. People feel as if they are entitled to just about everything. I've seen it when I go to work, co-workers believe they should get the schedule they want or the duties they want because...well because the bosses are always just 'wrong' and 'mean'. There is this sense of, "they're just out to get me so I'm gonna get what I can from them, even if I haven't worked to deserve it". "They owe it to me because I'm here!" I've seen it at the store when shoppers mistreat workers and expect to be treated as royalty. They expect to be treated with the best customer service when they are rude, obnoxious and unpleasant to be around. I've seen it at city council and town hall meetings where people believe that they should get all their medical, food and living expenses paid for by me, the tax payer, because "it's the government's job" to do so.

I have a little phrase that I love to use, "it's the government's job to take care of the general welfare, not the national healthcare, of the country." I'm not ignorant or uncompassionate (I don't think that's even a word but I'm making it one of my words), so I know that those in need do require assistance. But it should be exactly that! Those who need the help should be the ones to get food stamps, Medicaid and other welfare services offered by our government. I've seen it time and time again, in place after place after place, people lying and cheating on welfare applications to get help they really do not qualify for or get more than what they are qualified for. One thing that has stood out to me more than anything is watching these criminals (they are criminals because they are committing fraud against the government and me, the tax payer) use their benefits then go out to their 30,000 dollar cars, 200,000 dollar homes and 1,000 dollar wardrobes. This isn't just an isolated problem, it's a problem all over the country.

I'm a hard worker in every aspect of my life. When there is something I need or want I work for it. When I can't afford it I save up for it. I get another job so that I can afford it. I do what I need to do to take care my duties because it is MY responsibility to do so. So many in the country are unwilling to do the same because they feel they should only have to work a certain number of hours or a certain job. They see themselves as "too good" to do other work. What these people don't understand is that their unwillingness to take care of their personal responsibilities translates into more poverty, a weaker infrastructure and a division of people within the nation. Now, I understand that this isn't the case for all, or even most on welfare. I also understand this isn't just a welfare problem. This is a problem for people on all income levels. Laziness hurts us all.

I guess what I’m trying to get at is that the concept of it taking a village to raise a child is a misguided one. Sure, help is always a good thing and we should be willing to help those in need. But we are not entitled to luxury, it is our personal responsibility to take care of our financial, medical and emotional needs. A parent with great personal responsibility can raise that child better than a large village of people with little or no personal responsibility.