Has America lost its SOUL?

   I saw a piece on “60 Minutes” tonight about the number of children who are homeless in America.  Scott Pelley did his usual award winning job on this story, “Homeless children: the hard times generation”.  If you can watch this story and not get a lump in your throat when you see how these kids are affected by their situation you are either a Button Man in La Cosa Nostra, an international super duper secret agent or a member of the Tea Party.  How have things gotten so bad in America?  Has America lost its SOUL?

   According to statistics from the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP), 39% of American children live in poverty.  That’s approximately TWENTY FIVE MILLION children.  Not only are those numbers staggering, they are SHAMEFUL.  How can it be in the most prosperous nation on earth that 4 out of EVERY 10 kids live in poverty?  Does anyone CARE?

   Some of the kids in the "60 Minutes" piece live in hotels, live with relatives, live in homeless shelters or live in their personal vehicles.  They expressed shame and humiliation about the situation their families are in.  One girl even suggested that SHE was to blame for her family’s situation.  Can you believe that?  The kids went on to discuss the challenges of doing homework without power, grooming themselves in the restroom a major retail store and what they did to hide the truth from their classmates.  The most touching part was when some of the kids described the feeling of going to bed hungry.  These were KIDS talking … the innocence of youth … babies.  This is CRIMINAL.  This is SHAMEFUL.  The families depicted in the story were responsible middle class families and due to circumstances beyond their control, namely job loss, they lost their homes, family heirlooms and most of all, their dignity. 

   Of course, it is difficult to keep politics out of this story.  We just had an election where the Republican Party gained control of the House of Representatives.  This was done on the campaign promise of creating JOBS.  (See: Where are the jobs?)  So far, there has not been ONE piece of legislation originated out of the House that focuses on job creation.  Republicans have been very good at looking out for the best interest of big corporations and the top 2% of wage earners.  They have been WEAK when it comes to job creation and public education.  In fact, most of the legislation I have seen from the GOP on the federal and state levels has been aimed at limiting or eliminating the rights and benefits of those who HAVE jobs.  For a party that touts itself as the “party of family values”, the GOP needs to answer this question: WHOSE families do you value?  If the GOP does indeed value families, one would think the party would be doing everything possible to create jobs instead of trying to score political points by blocking legislation that will create jobs.

   In my local newspaper today, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, a story headline asked “Do the rich deserve what they get?"  The story was an interesting read.  What was more interesting were the comments posted in the discussion section.  To a large majority of those who posted comments, if the less fortunate would just stop being lazy good-for-nothings and got jobs and worked hard, all that ails them would be cured.  Hmm.  There are approximately 30 million Americans currently unemployed.  Are we to believe that ALL 30 million unemployed Americans are lazy good-for-nothings?  If getting a job were as simple as some make it seem, wouldn’t it be a reasonable assumption that 30 million people WOULD NOT BE UNEMPLOYED?  In the "60 Minutes" story, one father fought so hard to keep his family together that he actually painted a sign and stood on an intersection and sought donations from passers by.  As fate would have it, one person he encountered actually helped him land a job paying $10.00 an hour.  The pay is enough to keep his family in their hotel room and to pay for food.  Although grateful, this family wants a home of their own.  They are not the only family that has that desire. 
   The time for placating the rich and powerful and declaring war on the ever shrinking middle class has come to an end.  There needs to be a concerted effort by BOTH major political parties to create jobs.  Create JOBS and not feed GREED.  Too many of our  most vulnerable citizens, CHILDREN, are suffering.  Speaker (John) Boehner, WHERE are the JOBS?

   America, have we lost our SOUL?

Peace, peace in the Middle East!

Craig Riggins

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