Why is it that in this country helping people has gotten such a bad rap? It seems in most any debate involving social programs aimed at helping disadvantaged people, anyone who falls on the side of offering assistance is looked at as naive.

What also strikes me is how often these allegations come from the conservative right, who are also championing “family values.” If compassion is not a worthy value, might I ask, what is?

There is a disturbing arrogance surrounding conservative thought in this country, which implies that anyone who supports social aid programs is merely a child who is unable to grasp the complexity of American economics.

The connotation seems to be that our glorious economic system provides everyone with more than enough opportunity for success, and that to help those who can’t help themselves will undermine the entire system.

No matter how many examples are provided to the contrary, most people in this country still buy into the whole “land of opportunity” idea. The Reagan image of the welfare mother is so ingrained in the psyche, people have actually bought into it.

And so it has become very difficult to gain support for social programs, because most people have been convinced that the people who benefit from such programs are all lazy, unemployed drug addicts.

This attitude has gone so far as to even influence disputes over the minimum wage.

The minimum wage in this country is so low, that even if someone works full time he will make less than $11,000 per year. It is hard to imagine how that little money could sustain one person, let alone a small family.

The average person on welfare is not a freeloader. People who work a full-time minimum wage job exist below the poverty line, and therefore qualify for public assistance.

And yet getting to work is still the solution offered by most opponents of welfare. These people are working; that is not the problem at all.

The problem is that we are still allowing people to work for slave wages in this country. The whole point of a minimum wage is to prevent employers from underpaying their workers.

But if the minimum wage is so low that someone can’t even afford housing, what on earth do we consider underpaid? The most obvious solution to this country is to raise the minimum wage to a level which allows a small family to exist above the poverty line.

Opponents of raising the minimum wage have a number of reasons, all equally invalid.

The most common response is simply to turn a blind eye. One statistic that is a favorite is that unemployment in this country is lower than it has been in nearly 30 years. This statistic is incredibly misleading.

The trend in this country is moving away from full-time jobs with benefits towards parttime jobs with no benefits. More people may be working in this country, but for considerably less. Being a fry cook with a hairnet doesn’t compare to being a factory worker with a dental plan.

Whatever statistics are sited, the attitude seems to be “I’m working, why can’t these people?”

I’ve never had a problem finding a job. Most of my friends haven’t either. I suppose it would be natural for me to assume that everyone who can’t do the same must be incompetent in some way. This, however, would truly be the naive approach.

Even though I may not always realize it, my white, middle-class background is what has allowed me to live my life the way I have. Sure, I’ve worked some minimum wage jobs, but I also had the financial support of my parents and others to help me through. Not everyone has the same opportunities.

The sociologist C. Wright Mills speaks of the sociological imagination. Basically, he asserts that the only way to understand another person’s life is to understand the social and historical context in which the person lived.

Many opponents of social aid programs fail to do this.

When a white, middle-class person assumes that everyone’s life should be as easy as his, he is judging other people in the context of his own life.

This is the kind of ignorance that allows the gap between the rich and poor in this country to continue to grow.

But whether you’re rich or poor, white or black, everyone should feel compelled to show compassion for people who are having trouble making ends meet.

I freely admit there are people in this country who are just plain lazy, but the majority of the people who are getting screwed in this country are getting screwed through no fault of their own.

By wanting to offer help, even if (God forbid) it involves tax dollars, you are not any less learned than the narrow-minded egotists who do not. You have simply taken the time to put yourself in the shoes of someone less fortunate, and understand that you are lucky to be where you are, and have the resources to help.

People in this country want to work, and they deserve to be paid a reasonable wage for doing so.

The very least we can do is to offer a minimum wage that allows people to support themselves and their families.

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Ben Godar is a senior in sociology from Ames. He is A&E editor of The Daily.