2008 Woodie Awards
Some food for thought: In response to "Open your mind and read"
Laura Ashworth
Issue date: 3/17/08 Section: Perspectives
I'm a registered Democrat. How does that sit with you? I took the time to sit down and read Dustin Gilbert's column (March 3, "From the right"). Will you do the same for me?
To infer that people in poverty need to be "taught" how to get out of it implies that poor people are inferior to you.
How will you teach someone to get out of a situation in which the free market dictates that they make $7.00 an hour in a city where the living wage is $16.25 an hour, childcare costs $200 a week, higher education costs $6,000 a year and private health insurance costs $8933 per year?
Like Gilbert, I believe in a market economy, but I do not believe the market should dictate whether a person eats or has a bed to sleep in. One out of every eight children in this country goes to sleep hungry every night: the highest rate in the industrialized world.
In 2004, 37 million people, including 13 million children, lived below the poverty line of $15,219 for a family of three.
Like Gilbert, I believe that America is successful in many aspects. True, the U.S. has the highest gross income in the world. But 80 percent of America's wealth is tied up in 20 percent of the population. Children from low-income families only have a one percent chance of reaching the top five percent of the income bracket. Our income mobility is lower than France, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Finland, Norway and Denmark.
Unlike Gilbert, I am pro-choice. If a woman does not believe in abortion, then she doesn't have to have one. But she should be given the choice.
I believe the world is far too complex to break down into good and evil. Despite Muslim terrorists, the Muslim religion itself is not evil. Christians have brutally tortured prisoners against U.S. and International Law, but the Christian religion is not evil either.
Unlike Gilbert, I believe that if you question authority, but never disobey it, no changes will ever be made.
Like Gilbert, I believe in the right to bear arms and protecting the Second Amendment. I also believe in the Declaration of Independence, which guarantees every American citizen the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." I do not believe every American citizen is given that right equally.
To infer that people in poverty need to be "taught" how to get out of it implies that poor people are inferior to you.
How will you teach someone to get out of a situation in which the free market dictates that they make $7.00 an hour in a city where the living wage is $16.25 an hour, childcare costs $200 a week, higher education costs $6,000 a year and private health insurance costs $8933 per year?
Like Gilbert, I believe in a market economy, but I do not believe the market should dictate whether a person eats or has a bed to sleep in. One out of every eight children in this country goes to sleep hungry every night: the highest rate in the industrialized world.
In 2004, 37 million people, including 13 million children, lived below the poverty line of $15,219 for a family of three.
Like Gilbert, I believe that America is successful in many aspects. True, the U.S. has the highest gross income in the world. But 80 percent of America's wealth is tied up in 20 percent of the population. Children from low-income families only have a one percent chance of reaching the top five percent of the income bracket. Our income mobility is lower than France, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Finland, Norway and Denmark.
Unlike Gilbert, I am pro-choice. If a woman does not believe in abortion, then she doesn't have to have one. But she should be given the choice.
I believe the world is far too complex to break down into good and evil. Despite Muslim terrorists, the Muslim religion itself is not evil. Christians have brutally tortured prisoners against U.S. and International Law, but the Christian religion is not evil either.
Unlike Gilbert, I believe that if you question authority, but never disobey it, no changes will ever be made.
Like Gilbert, I believe in the right to bear arms and protecting the Second Amendment. I also believe in the Declaration of Independence, which guarantees every American citizen the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." I do not believe every American citizen is given that right equally.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 10
Joe Hill
posted 3/17/08 @ 3:31 PM EST
I'd like to respond to two arguments in particular.
The first is, "Unlike Gilbert, I am pro-choice. If a woman does not believe in abortion, then she doesn't have to have one. (Continued…)
Laura Ashworth
Laura Ashworth
posted 3/17/08 @ 6:35 PM EST
I just want to point out that this article has been shortened and simplified. In my original piece, I did have reasoning as to why I am pro-choice. These reasons include that the government should be not be affiliated with any religious beliefs, that a woman should have control over her own body and that a child saved by anti-abortion laws might end up suffering in the world because of poor adoption laws, poor foster care circumstances and poor environment. (Continued…)
Dustin Gilbert
posted 3/18/08 @ 2:50 PM EST
**I was referring to Islamic Jihadists...not Muslims as a whole. There is a huge difference and I just want to be sure that it clear. Jihadists make up less than 10% of Muslims. (Continued…)
Laura Ashworth
posted 3/18/08 @ 3:35 PM EST
Fair enough, my mistake.
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