I deliver newspapers to the low income housing projects in the community near us. These are not the slums of the larger cities, but are, in fact, fairly nicely kept, and the people in these projects are usually polite and well mannered.

These housing projects sit about 300 feet from the local community college. Those who are wheelchair bound would find it about twice as long, but still far less than the trips they routinely take to the store, to McDonald's, Long John Silver's, Taco Bell and Braums. The people in these houses could benefit from the education the community college has to offer. And the community college, which suffers from constant under-enrollment, could benefit from the additional students.

And so it occurred to me to point out the benefits the community college has to offer to some of the citizens within these projects. The answers were universally the same, and quite telling: "no, because if I went back to work, it would affect my check". These people, quite frankly, don't WANT to give up their existence, which requires no work on their part, to try to improve themselves.

Now, don't get me wrong, there are some folks within these apartments who don't fit the bill. The lady with MS who is trying hard to live independently before heading to her inevitable, interminable end in the nursing home across the street. The elderly gentleman who sits on his porch enjoying his retirement as best he can. But the attitude of those within this micro community who CAN improve their lives, but WON'T, have driven home a hard truth to me.

You see, for all of our protestations to the contrary, we as Americans don't value independence too highly. Most of us WANT someone else to make our decisions for us, to absolve us from all responsibility, and to remove the risk of failure from our list of options.

But, as any investor can tell you, risk is usually proportionate to potential reward. While removing onesself from the government dole might be a frightening prospect for some, the potential rewards from not being dependent on the government for help make this move more than worth it, in my opinion. And in the opinions of many who have made those sorts of moves.

Henry David Thoreau once mentioned his feeling that many of us lead lives of "quiet desperation". Looking on the faces of the poor and downtrodden in America, I am becoming more and more convinced that is true. They are convinced the American dream is not for them, and that they should complete their journey from cradle as quickly and with as little noise or personal risks as possible. And when we carry their coffins to the open grave, they have left no legacy, no mark, because they never took the risk.