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Compassionate activism
Before the Army goes too far down the road of wealth re-distribution (New Frontier Thanksgiving 2000 –“Compassionate Activism”), we need to address the organizational issues in our own backyard.
The first statement in “What We Believe”–that all who work full-time should not be poor–may best be addressed by giving Army employees a living wage. Many of us know employees who have given years of service, yet earn less than someone fliping burgers at McDonalds, and have to pay hundreds of dollars a month to provide healthcare to their children. Surely this is immoral.
Gary Compton
Grand Rapids, MI
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I read with interest the Thanksgiving issue. “Compassionate Activism” is a worthy goal, but some of the details set forth in this issue would compel me, for one, to say you do not have my endorsement…To make this a “Sunday morning commitment” (from our pulpits no less?) is jumping head first into a Social Gospel which I want no part of! And to state, and imply, that “poverty” is the root cause of most of our social ills and shortcomings is to ignore such undeniable faces as: crime rates were lower during the Depression ’30s while standards of morality were certainly higher than they are now–trillions of dollars later.
“Poverty is immoral” and can be equated with “slavery and segregation.” This is nonsense! Poverty has nothing to with morality. Anyone who cannot make distinctions between moral issues and financial problems needs to reread the Gospels and look up these terms in a good dictionary. Is poverty desirable? Certainly not. Should the Army help to alleviate it? Certainly.
John Pearson, Major (R)
Sacramento, CA
Africa
I congratulate you for the classic journalism you have produced, both in copy and photos, on that landmark visit by our friends, David and Doreen (Edwards)…You have captured the defining moments and statements in a beautiful and effective articulation of that dynamic part of our Army world (New Frontier October 24, 2000).
Henry Gariepy, Colonel (R)
Toms River, NJ
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