PUBLIC GROWS TOO DEPENDENT ON GOVERNMENT

A disturbing trend in American life, one many in this nation recognize, is the dependence on government to solve all problems. In addition to weakening individual resolve, the inertia of such a dependency (with so many eager-to-please politicians and bureaucrats) is nearly impossible to slow. In bygone days, people helped family members in need and, when that help wasn't sufficient or available, churches or private charitable organizations pitched in. Things have changed. Government has a rightful place in supplying assistance to the less fortunate of our citizens, yet the nation has given itself over too fully to this benevolence, and to miserable results.

There are, fortunately, remnants of the past in the way help is provided. The Bootheel Food Bank, headquartered in Sikeston, is one example. What it represents to the needy in 16 Southeast Missouri counties, including some of the poorest in the nation, is food in the pantry where there would otherwise not be any. What it represents collectively is people stepping forward to help other people, with a minimum of government involvement.

The food bank is a not-for-profit organization that addresses the simple proposition that there is plenty of food to go around but there remain some people in our region who don't have enough to eat. It solicits goods from 250 wholesalers, all of which have food available that is no longer suitable for commercial purposes: perhaps the expiration date has lapsed, perhaps the packaging was flawed, or for any of a number of reasons. These products are rounded up, organized and distributed by the food bank, requiring a minimum of overhead and a surplus of heart; volunteers supplement the efforts of eight full-time and four part-time workers who operate out of a donated building. Much of the food flows from a federal commodity program, but the administration of the food bank is private and, not coincidentally, lean and efficient.

In its first full year of operation, the food bank distributed 500,000 pounds of food. Last year, the distribution topped 5.3 million pounds. More than 8,000 families were helped, including many in this area; food from the bank is forwarded to 23 agencies in Cape Girardeau County for distribution.

While the Bootheel Food Bank is a noteworthy example of the charitable disposition found in most communities of this region (and of this nation, for that matter), it is by no means the only example. Without the prompting of government, people lend themselves in numerous ways to boards, campaigns, programs and projects to make life easier for those in our society who are disadvantaged. It doesn't take a lot of prodding to get people interested in working for and contributing to the United Way. When the call goes out for help from local endeavors like Toybox and Christmas for the Elderly, members of the community always respond. People answer with eye-popping generosity when a telethon is held. Churches still take the lead in directing efforts to lend a hand to fellow human beings. Ours is a land of plenty, and most people honor that and remain appreciative for their blessings, willing almost universally to extend their good fortune to others.

However, with the swelling of government programs at all levels, our national mindset slowly evolves from altruism to deference, with the public increasingly inclined to tarry while government steps in with its unproductive ways. We have gone from being our brother's keeper to being kept people.

Worse, government has slipped into the predicament of actually making it advantageous for people to get in and stay in publicly funded programs.

Certainly, there are roles government fills that citizen groups can not: national defense, organized education, public safety, and so on. When an earthquake, flood or other catastrophe strikes, a government does not misplace its responsibility in helping its citizens recover. People form and maintain governments for important reasons. However, the growing dependence on government services for nearly all human needs sets back the cause of individualism and personal purpose. We are sorry to see it.