About five years ago, London was racked by riots, primarily by the demographic euphemistically called "youths." The degree of lawlessness, violence, looting, assault, arson, murder and every other conceivable vice was appalling.

In the aftermath of the riots, the analysis began. Why did these young people commit such mayhem? What were they fighting against? What wrongs were they trying to right?

It was later determined that most of these "youths" were on welfare, the product of multi-generational entitlements. They were bored and decided to riot for the heck of it. They had no skills, no education, no aspirations – and most critically, no motivation to change.

They were not motivated to cultivate job skills of any sort because they already received free money. The only job training most of these recipients were inspired to acquire was how to continue scamming the system to receive additional, unending benefits – perhaps by having multiple illegitimate children through multiple men, or claiming disability where none exists, or some other sly and underhanded technique.

These young people, as well as their counterparts here in America, are victims of the most addictive drug known to mankind.

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What is this drug that causes healthy young adults to destroy their surroundings, heedless of any ancillary damage? It's a one-word answer: Dependency.

While the original intent of welfare was compassionate (preventing the poor from starving), progressives quickly recognized the value of dependency as a means to increased power. Welfare was never meant to support generations of strong and able-bodied young people in their prime working years. But it has, and the result is millions of people unable and unwilling to take responsibility for their lives. Why should they? They get free money.

Free money is like a drug. You'll do anything to continue getting it. You'll lie, cheat, steal, murder and riot to get your "fix." You'll produce endless numbers of fatherless children to increase your "take," who will then grow up on the dole, knowing no other life. You'll vote for whichever politician promises to continue the drug. The poison of dependency extends for generations. A government which creates a dependent class is no better than a drug pusher creating addicted clients. It leaves unimaginable chaos and heartbreak in its wake.

A dependent class never learns personal responsibility. Take away independence and you take away the incentive to be responsible as well. My guess is none of the rioters accepted any personal responsibility for their actions – instead, they tried to blame anything and everything except themselves. They burned cars, looted shops and beat people because (pick one): "The rich should give me more money / I had a bad childhood / the government is cutting my benefits / you're all racists / it's my right to loot since wealth is so unevenly distributed."

Deprived of what they feel are their "rightful" entitlements – and given a spark – it's no surprise whenever the dependent class erupts into chaos.

If I had to pick a single issue that has been the biggest destroyer of our nation, I would choose welfare. Welfare has destroyed the financial need for marriage; it has removed the stigma of illegitimacy; it has taken away the pride and dignity of providing for one's family; it has cultivated an entitlement mentality unassociated with hard work; it has manufactured imagined "rights" out of thin air; it has destroyed our moral compass; and it has encouraged men to abandon their children and thereby erode the family unit, which was the foundation of this nation.

Those who are addicted may never be able to kick the habit. These lost souls will always be filled with hatred and malice for those who try to deny them their next "fix." And they will, like all addicts, continue to be a danger and a drain on decent society.

If you doubt this, then please find me some statistics about the number of crimes committed by welfare recipients verses non-welfare recipients. I'm sure they're out there somewhere.

Like drugs, welfare cannot be quit cold turkey. Victims must be weaned slowly away from their addiction. Their lives must be redeemed. They must be taught to understand the connection between work and pay, between effort and reward.

But of course, our government will never make this effort. Why? Because a dependent class gives one thing in return: votes. They'll continue to vote for whoever promises them their "fix." The government is simply the "drug pusher."

These problems were 70 years in the making, and they may take 70 years to correct. But mark my words: If we don't destroy the pushers and wean the addicts off the drug addiction of welfare, society will crumble. It has already begun.

It's no secret that government dependency has massively increased in the last few years. It's shocking enough that one out of seven Americans is on food stamps (as opposed to the 1970s, when one in 50 was on food stamps); what's more ominous is how actively the government is encouraging people to overcome their pride, independence and "stubbornness" in order to take free stuff. Equally menacing is how successful they've been. By some accounts, 49 percent of Americans now live in a household that accepts some kind of government benefit.

This goes way, way beyond any so-called "compassionate help" for those who are temporarily down on their luck. Instead, this smacks of deliberate engineering to increase the population of dependent citizens by dangling the carrot of endless free goodies.

Where does it stop? Do we continue until 75 percent of the U.S. budget is earmarked for entitlements? Do we continue until 10 or 15 generations have been on welfare with no interruption? Where – does – it – stop?

The prevalence of free stuff has turned attitudes around. In the past, if someone offered you something free, your suspicions would be aroused and you'd ask, "What's the catch?" Today, when someone offers you something free, you grab it with glee and announce, "All right! I deserve this!" You've been trained to feel entitled to freebies. And an entitlement mentality, above all, is antithetical to freedom and independence.

No one – ever – can earn self-respect by being dependent. As any former drug addict can tell you, pride comes from overcoming obstacles and achieving something on one's own. Those addicted to the drug of dependency will never know the pride that comes from success achieved through their own efforts.

That's sad. It's just sadder that our own government is the biggest "pusher" on the planet.

Media wishing to interview Patrice Lewis, please contact [email protected].

