Extension of Remarks: Ease childhood hunger
As most of us continue to digest that Thanksgiving meal, let us add an appropriate helping of guilt.
The lead editorial in today's Buffalo News notes that some 36 million Americans had to struggle to buy enough food last year, and some 691,000 children went hungry at some point during that year. That is a national disgrace, and has ramifications beyond a child's discomfort or a parent's shame.
Little, including learning, gets done on an empty stomach. Educational initiatives, vital to breaking the cycle of poverty, are harder to implement with a classroom of hungry children.
Elsewhere:
- The Waco Tribune: With our nation’s sagging economy, we’d be Scrooge to deny that the commercial sector could use attention through our wallets and credit cards. Yet we’d still ask fellow Central Texans to heavily consider charity in the mix, especially with nonprofits facing hard times.
- The New York Times notes that the government has not only fallen behind in its assistance for the poor, it clings to old and inaccurate ways of counting them: If there was ever a time for more precise measurements, it is now. Better numbers will produce a better understanding of poverty, and will enhance Washington’s ability to respond in the difficult days ahead.
- The Dallas Morning News offered one of its annual Thanksgiving toasts: To our brothers and sisters everywhere who are struggling with want, hunger or fear that the declining economy will leave them out in the cold. May we give thanks for what we have, however great or small, and hope the future is brighter for one and all.
- The Corvallis, Ore., Gazette Times thanks those who have already donated to local food drives -- some of them by llama: But the need is greater this year than it has been in years past. And the need will not go away when the holidays are over.
- The Lincoln, Mass., Journal says the problems are widespread, if often hidden: In some cases, the façade that everything is OK behind lots with nice yards, homes and vehicles is just a front of pride. The truth is, your neighbors, no matter where you live, need your generosity this year to have some semblance of a happy holiday.
Happy Holidays!
-- George Pyle, Editorial Writer
