Our goal at the community foundation is to elevate the conversation around philanthropy and to get more people involved.

This got me to thinking about a boss I once had. He used to say that language controls the culture – words matter. We know that from advertising and politics, where slogans and catch phrases can actually influence the way we think.

Unfortunately, there are a number of prevailing memes in our country that aren’t helpful to the not-for-profit world. One of them is “the makers vs the takers.” This is the idea that those of us who make a living pay for those who don’t. While true, the statement implies that those who are less fortunate are lazy and have chosen to be where they are.

I just read an article that reinforces that misconception. It talked about wealthy people who believe that being poor is ‘easy,’ because people on welfare get paid for doing nothing.

Really?

Do they think that fathers and mothers wake up one day and say, “I think it would be easier if I just quit my job and we all lived on food stamps?”

Memes like ‘makers vs the takers’ and being poor is ‘easy’ are degrading and demoralizing. And they prevent more people from getting involved in solving the problem. After all, why should you help someone who won’t help themselves?

So if language controls the culture, perhaps we need to change the language.

Instead of calling people on welfare the takers, we might think of them as the ‘providers,’ because they provide the rest of us with an opportunity to give back. Instead of thinking that living on government assistance is easy, maybe we need to think of it as ‘temporary,’ because temporary means at some point the family won’t require our help anymore. Instead of thinking of giving back to your community as an obligation, think of it as a ‘privilege.’

Because, after all, having privilege makes you feel good.

I had a friend once who used to do some work for me around the house. He was a kind and generous soul who was a hard worker. He also happened to be an alcoholic and would disappear for months at a time, living on the streets. Eventually, his disease killed him.

I often wonder what gave me the ability to rise above the hardships in my life and not him. Did I have better parenting or a stronger support structure? I knew both his sister and his mother, and he came from a good family. And yet, somehow he was unable to make his life work.

Some folks might say he was just weak. Or that he made bad decisions. Or that he chose to live on the streets when all he had to do was get a job and stay sober. Their words would dismiss him. They would make it sound so easy.

Ah, there’s that word again.

If we assume that people on welfare are weak, lazy or just want to take advantage of the system, then we exacerbate the problem. And we’re not seeing the whole person.

Remember the saying “There but for the grace of God go I.”

But for one bad decision, one catastrophic illness, one home invasion or house fire, you, too, could be on the street, living the easy life.

And then you’d have to rely on the help of strangers, just like so many others.

So, let’s change the language. Let’s build people up instead of tearing them down. Let’s make helping others something we want to do, rather than something we have to do.

Let’s start a movement.