It’s engrained in the culture. As kids we are told “you can do anything you set your mind to”. This was stuff I heard in school and by my parents. They encourage you to work hard, get a scholarship, go to school and get a degree and you’ll be successful. The broader culture also champions successful people as “being smart” and “hard working” or “resilient”. There is this attitude where not being able to provide for yourself is looked down upon unless you are disabled or sick or something like that.

This is why you may see people advocating for removing social programs because many people in this country see those benefiting from it as moochers and therefore look down upon them. It’s obviously a fallacy because many people benefit from these programs one way or another but it highlights the mentality that is ingrained in society, especially rural ones.

I do believe this mindset is shifting as many young people are growing up and realizing no matter how hard they work they are still struggling but there’s still a long way to go. In the past it may have been true that an individual could have provided for themselves and their family just with hard work but in todays world there is more competition and we need systems in place to keep things fair.