Alms.

Editor,

The premise that people in need should be ministered to by charities is in my opinion flawed to begin with. Every day my mailbox overflows with solicitations from every charity imaginable, many of which minister to the same populations: kids with cancer, impoverished American Indians, homeless people, at-risk teenagers, etc.

At the same time we have a political process in the U.S.A. that demonizes government, labels anything resembling shared responsibility for "promoting the General Welfare" (in quotes because this is one of the core principles upon which our nation was founded and is enshrined in the Constitution of the United States) as "socialism," is geared entirely toward steering enormous amounts of money out of the pockets of workers and into the coffers of giant corporations, lambasts the very idea of taxes, and in more ways than you can shake a stick at transfers as much wealth into the hands of an already wealthy few and shirks all responsibility for caring for the "least among us" (from that precious Bible politicians pay unending lip service to and do not believe in one whit).

An enlightened (it was Enlightenment philosophy that gave us the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution) body politic would insist -- gladly -- that adequate education, housing, health care, employment, and all of the necessities of life would be every citizen's right and would enthusiastically contribute to a political process whose aim is to provide these things for all, not steal these from as many as necessary to make a few people rich as the current system works.

Charities begging from my mailbox are a symptom of everything that is wrong with the United States, and it wouldn't take a lot given the political will to address collectively the needs this plethora of charities chip away at with alms bowls and faith in the kindness of strangers.

Re: "Alms for the Rich and Powerful" (9/8/2010)