I am guessing that given the more left leaning of this board, the answers are fairly obvious but I was wondering where people stood on the ideas of self-reliance, government intervention, and work.

My firm belief is that people as a whole must be self-reliant, that government should stay out unless it is needed, and hard work is necessary to succeed.

Where do you stand?

I listen to my brothers talk about what they want to do and I'm amazed at their goals. Nothing to do with hard work or being self-reliant but more along the lines of American Idol and "famous". It is one thing to dream of being a baseball player when you're young but I get this impression that we are becoming more and more focused on the easy route rather than the tough but rewarding one.