Spoiled Stupid

I'm of the middle class American garden variety. I have yet to actually need or want something that I did not get. I work hard for everything I've gotten, but I've never been desperate; I've never been helpless. I live in a bubble, and don't get me wrong I like it there, but it makes me susceptible to being a naive. In my bubble world everything always works itself out. A few days ago I was sitting in my Sociology Class listening to a group of well-off white kids talk about wellfare like we actually knew what we were talking about. I don't think any of us really understands what it is to be poor and downtrodden. I know I don't, but I am unwilling to dismiss someone's penury as a result of lack of worth ethic. That's pretty much where the discussion went. The government shouldn't be responsible for people who are lazy and don't go out and find jobs. This was coming from people who have never even seen food stamps. So its not our responsibility to care about our fellow man. What I got from that class was that because we're financially secure it really doesn't matter about those who aren't. I left a little sick. I've heard opinions like that "people are lazy that's why they're poor" from some of my other classes as well. I don't want my world to be like that. If we are so intelligent a species than why can't we muster some compassion for people who weren't as blessed? Today's middle class teenagers are being spoiled stupid into forgetting that not everyone have their opportunities. It's sad to see. I can't say that I understand poverty. I don't. But at least I'm willing to try to comprehend and maybe help.