Governor Chris Christie's comments regarding government assistance insensitive

    To quote a wise woman, “The minute you stop moving, is the minute you start to die.” I choose to stay active sprinting on the treadmill, or moving in tune to my music on the elliptical.  It was during one of these workouts that I flipped to CNN.  I’m not a usual news junkie but I kept watching and I’m glad I did because it just so happened to produce fodder apropos for this piece.
        During The Cafferty File with Jack Cafferty, viewers were made aware of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s latest thoughts on the state of individuals who are relying on government aid.  Governor Christie believes that we as a nation are “ ‘people sitting on the couch waiting for their next government check.’ ”  He supplements this view by stating, “ ‘It’s because government’s now telling people, stop dreaming, stop striving, we’ll take care of you.’ ”
    Despite Governor Christie’s political affiliations or what he may think of the efforts of the current administration to combat unemployment and the financial distress that was brought upon primarily by a Republican party, the comment itself was insensitive.
     While there are people within the unemployment system who do take advantage of the services offered by those government employees who take their jobs seriously, there are a great many more of us who are trying to navigate our way through a system that has made us feel discarded and in need of support.
      According to Cafferty, Governor Christie believes that when “Americans stop believing that hard work and integrity will bring them success, they’ll turn into a bunch of couch potatoes waiting for the next government handout.”
    As quick as Christie is to express his opinion on the mentality of those of us in the unemployment system, he is slow to realize that it’s “hard work and integrity” that makes us get up at 6:45 to catch a train for a staffing agency interview. It’s “hard work and integrity” that makes us continue job searching when we’re showered with statistics that disprove a sufficient income in our field. It’s “hard work and integrity” that helps us go through our daily tasks despite what we may be feeling emotionally. It’s integrity, Mr. Christie, not dependence on the federal government that allows us to continue dreaming, striving and taking care of ourselves.