Thursday, May 29, 2008

A letter to the editor

Published on Thursday, May 29 with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Letters to the Editor on the Web. You can find the letter we're responding to right here.

Everyone deserves food
I was appalled by the ignorance of the May 22 Web letter "Government Spending I Don't Like." As an AmeriCorps•VISTA member, I am proudly serving our country by fighting poverty with Just Harvest, a local anti-hunger organization. During my service, I have helped dozens of low-income families apply for food stamps. Public benefits help low-income workers and people who have lost their jobs get by without falling deeper into debt and destitution. It is an insult to portray them as "drug addicts" who "make their living sitting on the couch."

No matter what their situation, everyone deserves enough food -- it's right there in Article 25 of the U.N.'s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. If fighting wars seems more important than feeding our neighbors, our priorities are seriously mixed up. Let's hope our legislators make decisions based on their belief in human dignity, not greed.

RICK CLAYPOOL
AmeriCorps•VISTA Member
Just Harvest
South Side

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Back when I was doing all those drugs and sitting on my couch as a kid... it was nice to have some food now and again.