Lorrie and I have a morning routine. Each and every morning we sit and browse the news headlines (after checking the weather in Vieques, of course) while we drink our espresso. This morning we came across a news headline that just stopped us in our tracks.
"Texas Woman Shoots Self and Two Children After Being Denied Food Stamps"
Now if that won't cause one to pause, nothing will. Our first reaction was ... how tragic and sad. To think that a person could arrive at that point, horrible....and the children. Like I said, it causes one to pause.
But this thing stuck with me today. I started asking myself "Is this where we have arrived as a nation?"
Why was there no family at all to help? Ok...maybe she was widowed and had no family, but if not then why was there nobody to help? Is it because of the way our society has fractured the family nucleus? Individualism and selfishness run rampant.
Why was there no other place in her community to turn, or rather, why did she not feel that she could turn to some community organization? How about a church? Why was the government the supposed solution?
"Texas Woman Shoots Self and Two Children After Being Denied Food Stamps"
Now if that won't cause one to pause, nothing will. Our first reaction was ... how tragic and sad. To think that a person could arrive at that point, horrible....and the children. Like I said, it causes one to pause.
But this thing stuck with me today. I started asking myself "Is this where we have arrived as a nation?"
Why was there no family at all to help? Ok...maybe she was widowed and had no family, but if not then why was there nobody to help? Is it because of the way our society has fractured the family nucleus? Individualism and selfishness run rampant.
Why was there no other place in her community to turn, or rather, why did she not feel that she could turn to some community organization? How about a church? Why was the government the supposed solution?
"The best government is that which governs least."
......Henry David Thoreau
It was reported that the young girl,12 years old, was updating her facebook page while the stand-off at the social services offices was happening. That obviously opens up a few questions. Why did the girl have a cell phone when they couldn't even feed themselves? Could it have been a government program to offer free cell phones to low income families? Maybe something like this one:
There are now 45.8 million Americans dependent upon food stamps for survival, 14.7% of the U.S. population.
Food stamp usage has risen roughly 57% in since 2007. This is the highest reported number since the program inception in 1969. It's a scary chart.
Seems to me that if we know of someone in need shouldn't we then offer help, instead of leaving it up to the legislators to haggle over? The very fabric of our society is fraying and is in danger of disappearing completely. It could make a real difference to someones life.
It was reported this evening that the young girl died from the gunshot. Her brother is in critical condition.
Just a story that made me think today.....
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