Dr. David Orman

This is the biggest problem with “handouts” in general.

In the beginning, they are appreciated.
Then they are expected.
Then they are demanded.
And if they are reduced or eliminated, there is often a highly volatile reaction.

What once sparked gratitude now sparks outrage.

“Handouts” given regularly lead to stunted growth. When this trend occurs generationally, it becomes a behavioral cancer—stripping current (and future) generations of the option for maturity, for learning through failure (and success), and for true self-empowerment.

Over time, recipients become dependent—not just in a practical sense, but emotionally and psychologically. The will weakens. Resilience fades. The sacred fire of initiative, the hunger to carve out one’s own life, begins to dim.

What begins as kindness ends in captivity.

True empowerment doesn’t come from consistent giving.
It comes from teaching.
From allowing people to rise, to fall, and to rise again.
From letting the sting of discomfort sharpen awareness and fuel innovation.
From trusting the human spirit to adapt, evolve, and overcome.

Without that, we create generations who no longer ask, “How can I grow?” but instead, “Why isn’t more being given to me?”

And this is how civilizations lose their edge—not through sudden collapse, but through the slow erosion of personal responsibility, masked as compassion.

The lesson is simple:
Help, but don’t hinder.
Give, but teach how to give to oneself.
Support, but never at the cost of someone’s power to rise.

We are not meant to be carried endlessly.
We are meant to stand, to stumble, to strengthen—
and to soar.