- Gov. Ritter’s executive order for unions
- When will people be held accountable?
- Noisy neighbors are inconsiderate
- Passage of A through I good for children
- Congrats to Michael Mukasey
- Modifications to Title VII
- Election counting problems
- Homeless veterans
- Pakistan the most dangerous
- Fair elections need to be implemented
Homeless veterans
I spent almost fifty years as a sociologist studying and working with the homeless. Each time I got to know someone living on the streets, I found a tragic story -too often related to war. I challenge the reader to talk to a homeless person sometime. Ask whether the person is a veteran and “what it like to be on the streets?” If the person is not intoxicated or disturbed, you may learn something worthwhile learning about his or her life. (Be very careful to pick a safe, public situation, though, frankly, life is far more dangerous for the homeless person on the streets than it will be for you in your short visit there.) When I was a boy, my family went with my father who was an Army chaplain to camps in the South. I remember some good soldiers and I was taken to a few Army funerals. Thus, I hate to hear people say, “If you’re not for the Iraqi war, you’re against the soldiers.” Baloney!!! And as for certain talk jocks who utter such insults, on what I call “hate radio,”
It is time for Americans to frankly recognize what war does to people.
Even more important, we need leaders who know how to pursue peace through discussion and honesty, not those who believe that we can win through confrontation and power. This will become increasingly clear as more nations, friends and foes of today, come to have atomic power.
Until we and our leaders learn to talk and deal honestly, our whole nation, not just the homeless and other disenfranchised people, will become more uprooted and divided.
This letter has not been edited.