Choice

[Sapphire Blue]

Some choices that people make...

Lobster or filet mignon

Red beans or navy beans


A Jaguar or a Mercedes-Benz

Fix the brakes or pay the heating bill.


A 40” screen or a 50” screen

Blood pressure medication or shoes


A gated community or a penthouse

Rent or food


Cabo San Lucas or Maui

The attic or the Superdome

Some people still say that 'choice' is a 'liberal' concept... and that poverty isn't a winning issue.

For the love of God, what are we trying to win?

[Der Blaue Engel]

1. Eloquent

Thank you.

[Sapphire Blue]

2. ..

:hug: Thank you!

[in_cog_ni_to]

3. THIS post would make a FANTASTIC political ad.

:thumbsup: Nice, very nice!

[Sapphire Blue]

6. I wish it could awaken the consciences of those who are indifferent to poverty.

[H2O Man]

4. Poverty

is the most severe form of violence, according to Gandhi.

[Sapphire Blue]

5. Yet so many remain indifferent. "Indifference, then, is not only a sin, it is a punishment."

The Perils of Indifference
Elie Wiesel

(excerpt)

In a way, to be indifferent to that suffering is what makes the human being inhuman. Indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger and hatred. Anger can at times be creative. One writes a great poem, a great symphony. One does something special for the sake of humanity because one is angry at the injustice that one witnesses. But indifference is never creative. Even hatred at times may elicit a response. You fight it. You denounce it. You disarm it.

Indifference elicits no response. Indifference is not a response. Indifference is not a beginning; it is an end. And, therefore, indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor -- never his victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten. The political prisoner in his cell, the hungry children, the homeless refugees -- not to respond to their plight, not to relieve their solitude by offering them a spark of hope is to exile them from human memory. And in denying their humanity, we betray our own.

Indifference, then, is not only a sin, it is a punishment.

(snip)

In the place that I come from, society was composed of three simple categories: the killers, the victims, and the bystanders. During the darkest of times, inside the ghettoes and death camps -- and I'm glad that Mrs. Clinton mentioned that we are now commemorating that event, that period, that we are now in the Days of Remembrance -- but then, we felt abandoned, forgotten. All of us did.

Complete text & audiois available @ http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ewieselperilsofindifference.html

[Sapphire Blue]

26. !

:kick:

[bobbolink]

17. Absolutely! Gandhi "got it" Now, how do we get USians and their reps to GET IT?

You'd think, given that this is the most religious country on earth, that this understanding would be central to ALL our decision making.

No wonder sometimes I feel really CRAZY :crazy:

[EFerrari]

7. Maybe we need a video game like "Pacman" where tanks

eat children and elderly people and sick people. If people are used to responding to images not idea, maybe they need to be given many more of them.

[Sapphire Blue]

8. How about a virtual reality game?

Where the player makes everyday poverty choices?

(That photo.. a way of life in the 'wealthiest country on Earth'. :cry:)

[Scriptor Ignotus]

9. at some point most Americans choose to be either a

Republican or a Democrat.

Glad I made the right choice.

K&R

[Sapphire Blue]

10. Along w/being Democrats, we need to live as Democrats.

This was once the Party of Economic & Social Justice. It's time to get back to that... time to start caring about each other again... in word and deed.

[bobbolink]

23. Sometimes I just despair of the Dems getting back to their roots.

:cry:

It must come from the grassroots, and that's why I despair.. I don't see it happening here at DU.

:cry:

[Sapphire Blue]

24. It's hard not to despair at times, especially when some can so easily say...

... "poverty is not a winning issue." 37 million people aren't important enough to them. I don't get that kind of thinking, and I don't want to get it. It needs to change. Whether or not poverty is a 'winning' issue, it is a moral issue, one that we cannot ignore.

Look at Senator Edwards' campaign and you can see the Democratic Party being revived. His is the message of Social & Economic Justice... and we are the grassroots.

[bobbolink]

27. I don't want to "get it" either!

It has to do with having a heart, not to mention soul, and that's the serious lack in this country.

:cry:

While I deeply appreciated his strong stand on poverty, I was on the fence for a long time about Edwards for some of the reasons others have suggested (but I NEVER attacked him like I've seen here!)

Now, I'm ready to give my total support to him and his campaign. After my disappointment with Kucinich, that isn't easy for me at all.

Of course, I know it will also leave me exposed to a lot of ugly comments here. Derned good thing for that new feature! :rofl:

{{{{{{{{{{Sapphire Blue}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

[Sapphire Blue]

28. ...

I wonder about the Edwards bashing... if it's coming from the same ones who say "poverty is not a winning issue"?

Regardless of what the liberal elite (there, I said it!) say, poverty is a vital issue... and Senator Edwards' campaign is thriving.

(I think that new feature & I may become fast friends ;) )

[bobbolink]

30. I would like to get some clear and HONEST answers from all

liberals about exactly WHY they cannot care about poverty issues.

Last night I was told about one more homeless person who died out in the cold, and I have no more patience left.

Why is the war the only issue for so many? Especially when there are more people in the US dying from poverty and lack of medical care than are dying in the war???

I want some honest answers and dialogue!

[northamericancitizen]

11. Thank you Sapphire. K & R

Once again you are bringning us back to Reality.

[Sapphire Blue]

14. You're welcome, northamericancitizen.

:hi: Thank you for the K&R!

[riderinthestorm]

12. Beautiful. Thanks for this. nt

[Sapphire Blue]

15. You're welcome, riderinthestorm. I appreciate your comment.

:hug:

[Greyhound]

13. K & R

:kick:

[Sapphire Blue]

16. Thanks, greyhound1966!

:hi:

[distantearlywarning]

18. Very nice.

Thanks for posting this.

[Sapphire Blue]

19. ..

:hi: You're welcome.

[Kajsa]

20. Beautifully stated,

and it speaks for me.

Thank You!

:hug:

[Sapphire Blue]

21. Thank you, Kajsa!

:hug:

[bobbolink]

22. Your piece here shows exactly why I wish Sojourners and others would print

articles *FROM* poor folk, rather than only about them!!

This is so beautiful, clear and to the point.

I rail against this whole concept of "choices", because it's thrown at us so much. People need to GET IT that "choice" is a middleclass concept!!

Thank you for this bit of eloquence!!

:hug: :applause: :hug:

[Sapphire Blue]

25. ...

:hug: :loveya: :hug:

[DaveJ]

29. Another Choice: Serve Them or Fight Back

nt