Most Americans are PROVIDED the opportunity to live a happy and prosperous life by the collective conscience we call a government. We put our hard earned money into a treasury at all levels of government to provide for the common good. The common good provides for a populous of people that feed an economy that is the most powerful in the world. While China has had incredible growth, they still aren't the USA. The USA has invested for two centuries in the forward movement of that common good. It is at the heart of our democracy. The one vote becomes a collective expression of our confidence in directing the power of our treasury. Government is nothing without a treasury. It just isn't. A government without a treasury is an anarchy. It is a reality we grasped long ago.
Americans born 'out of sync' with what is stereotypically called 'the norm' have capacity and ability. They may be culturally different but, they have capacity to live the dream the USA promises to every citizen. It is that understanding which compels some of the most incredible people to become a member of this society. The USA would never be the nation it is today without our immigrants. But, it also would not be the nation we are today without our minority leaders.
When minority leaders have spoken out it was not for themselves. They spoke out for a collective conscience in step with the one others shared. When they asked to be a part of the society and economy it was with the understanding we would all be equals and provided for in a common footing to success.
There are communities and members of communities that do not have common ground with the majority of Americans. You don't have to take my word for it, ask Jim McGreevey. Ask those that work actively through 'faith based' organization to help those in prison and jail to break their cycle of indifference and self-abuse. Those folks will tell you there are many that come into our prison systems that meet 'caring' for the first time in their lives. Caring. Not a person, but, the institution we as Americans have built to handle those that have not followed the rules.
The USA is quite an interesting country. We provide doubt over guilt and as a result we make sure the innocent are provided for in our prison system should the rule of law prove to be wrong. As a society we do not break the rules of TRUST. The public trust is at the heart of all that is involved with our court systems. It is where we divide social norms with social stigma to find the truth, protect the truth and find justice. The American people value truth.
If we turn away from the very foundations of our society and victimize those that have served their time as prescribed by our courts we will have dissolved the truth and the trust that moves this country forward. When a citizen is freed after serving their time they are returned their constitutional rights and to remove any aspect of it, including SNAP benefits, we will be providing for increased crime.
Crime is expensive. Ask insurance companies. If that means more than morality then know this. When a person leaves prison they will need to be helped to move forward and if we don't give them that help they will fail. We will have denied them the opportunity to continue on a path to wholesomeness and prosperity. They will return to issues of crime and we will have accomplished nothing when they were incarcerated. Our society will have then a burden forever.
It is morally wrong and completely oppositional to the well being of our democracy to believe we are not obligated to feed the hungry and help those struggling to achieve well being in all forms that takes.
Food stamps are a very small installment payment for a life of productivity. I suggest we do not fail those that need our collective moral conscience the most.
