What ever happened to our social conscious? Children of the sixties were, if not crusaders for equal rights and opportunities, at least conscious of them. Now we turn a blind eye to homelessness and hunger right here in our own country. Instead we worry about feeding and rebuilding other countries, instead of rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure right here at home.
Why aren”t there homeless shelters for at least, women and children, in every community? Americans used to be half derided and half admired for their social consciousness by most foreigners. Now we are laughed at when we complain about Amnesty International”s gripe, prisoners and torture overseas. It is well known we have the most prisoners in the free world by a tremendous amount and use torture on many.
I guess I should have had an inkling when the ERA did not pass, since it showed an inclination even by women themselves to reject equality. Many Americans seem to have a complex demeaning themselves because they are to busy or lazy to study the issues. But the most helpless among us, the, poor, ignorant and homeless, are least likely to vote or even to be listened to.
Another issue, is that the difference in life expectancy is growing between socio-economic groups. Those who can afford to get preventive health care live longer, and those who cannot develop diseases that do not get attended to until they are serious.
It is one thing to take issue with illegal aliens reaping the benefits of our social welfare system, but what about those who have been paying in for their entire lifetimes? Why are their benefits at risk because we must reduce the taxes on the rich and their vast estates? The rich receive the most benefits from our laws and rules governing commerce, so they should pay more.
Dave Gebhard
Lakeport
