Arnold Schwarzenegger on Welfare & Poverty

Republican CA Governor

In land of opportunity, millions are left behind

I used to go around saying: "Everybody should pull himself up by his own bootstraps--just like I did!" What I learned about this country is this: Not everybody has boots.

I saw it firsthand, when I met the children in the inner cities. We think we're motivating them by beaming the American Dream in to them--on TV and in movies. Wrong!

Most of them don't get the motivation. Instead, they hear: "You're a loser. You'll never make it out of the barrio or the ghetto. You'll never get out."

The more I saw, the more I realized I'd been wrong when I thought the American Dream was available to everyone. Because even though it is the Land of Opportunity for me, and the majority of Americans, millions are left behind. It's not a level playing field for them. So really, it's not just the bodybuilding and the business and the box office for me anymore. Helping the kids who need help is the most important goal I have.

Source: A Patriot's Handbook, by Caroline Kennedy, p.568 , Sep 21, 2001

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