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I would appreciate some input on something.

I just returned from 3 weeks in India.

Upon my return, I was struck by the homeless here on the streets of Seattle. People begging on the freeway off ramps, waiting outside a shelter, etc....

These people appeared to be able bodied. In fact, outside one shelter in downtown Seattle, they were actually playing a softball game with shelter employees. I notice they all had on decent, in come cases new, shoes.

This bothers me quite a bit. It bothers me because my wife and I have been discussing forming a charity to help these same people. It bothers me because millions of people in India, and hundreds of millions across the world live in the most unspeakable poverty. People who are not able bodied, poor children, the mentally ill.....in developing countrys, these people are literally left to scrounge food from the gutters. Their lives are brutal and short. Anyone who has spent time in the developing world knows what I am talking about.

Are there mentally ill/physically handicaped folks living on the street here in the US? Of course. Many. But how many more are simply drunks or druggies?

The whole thing has sent me for a bit of loop.

I was raised with the notion that one should try and help others. And I believe that. But as I have gotten older, and more conservative, I cannot help but notice that those 'in need' do little to help themselves. If you live your life responsibly, you better be good at reassuring yourself, because our society seems to have little value for personal responsibility. Homeless? Someone elses problem. Deep in Credit Card debt? You are a victim of the credit card companys. Got a mortgage you can't pay? Its the fault of those nasty predatory lenders....

Let me try and form a question(s) out this.

Is it still worthwhile trying to help others if you know that many of those receiving that help have done little to solve their own problems? Is the act of service to others noble, even if the efforts only reach a small number who truly deserve this help?