Maggie's Farm

Good link. Thanks. At the risk of being dismissed as a loathsome Puritan, I think some consideration of sin, repentance, forgiveness, making amends, and altruism should also be considered.

Also, having had to feed myself without a trust fund to support my former altruistic profession serving the "underclass", I believe strongly that assistance should go only to children, the elderly, and extremely mentally or physically disabled people of working age. If you are willing to work, you can always find something to put bread on the table. I think concepts castigated as Horribly Victorian like the "deserving poor" and "able-bodied" should be revived.

Just one personal note: I am the lone survivor of a large family iall of whom have succumbed to death, become totallly disabled or been forcibly committed for insanity in the last year. Beyond being grateful to God for sparing me, I have struggled to pull some meaning and lessons out of this famly trauma to give my children some hope and guidance for their own lives. What I repeat is something you may perhaps label dreary Puritanism: the virtues of persistence, hard work, self-denial, keeping one's commitments, sobriety, resisting temptation, moderation in all things, staying married, staying employed, etc. I tell them that Life is not fair, but don't you dare be moochers, and don't dare be slackers and if you work and meet your family responsibilities and help people in your community, you can live with yourself and know that you have tried to be faithful to your God. My point is that the dreary Puritan virtues may not be sexy, and are certainly not all there is to life. I learn from all of you who so ceaselessly so extol freedom as your chief value. But when thinking about the ills of the underclass and those needing help, one must include the moral and spiritual.