Please sir, I would like some more !

             " Please Sir, I'd like some more." The words are from a scene in the movie "Oliver." Charles Dickens portrayed the characters in his epic novel "Oliver Twist." The setting was amidst the squalor of a nineteenth century orphanage. It was, he concluded in an earlier work, " The best of times and the worst of times." In the 19th century, orphanages and alms houses dealt harshly with the poor. Children lived in rags and ate what gritty fare they were offered or could steal. Characters, similar to " the artful dodger", begged, stole and even murdered to survive. Child prostitution, pandemic drug abuse, waves of scurvy and other virulent plagues, swept through the unheated ghettos of central London, with the ferocity of a hellish inferno. New York City was just as bad.

           But, the businessmen did well. Lloyds of London prospered. The great landed estates were lush islands of peace and prosperity. Pity, only if you were unfortunate enough to be born poor, disabled, or worse yet, grow old. There was no social security system or Medicare then. If you were old and sick, you died. If you were old and poor, you starved. It was a society of extremes, where those on the lower end of the socio-economic ladder were left to fend for themselves.

           Our immigrant forefathers knew this hunger and privation. That is why they flocked to America's shores. They fled from oppression and want, to a land where they could work and prosper. Because of their hardships, they left to us a philosophical patrimony that envisioned better living conditions for our children, our aged parents, the sick and the poor.

           It wasn't until the early Twentieth Century that our own national leaders began to understand and remediate some of the horrendous problems of the poor. The movement was fueled by the courage and foresight of a relatively small number of prominent Americans. From their lofty social and financial heights, some of the wealthy families remembered their humble beginnings and the meanings of hunger and want. People like the Rockefellers, the Roosevelts, the Kennedys, the Fords, the Carnegies and other socially conscious American families, helped develop in the national consciousness, a responsibility towards the less fortunate. It was a " noblesse oblige,” that the world had known in simpler times, when knighthood was in flower. It is a human chivalry that makes us greater than the beasts, a defining characteristic of America, that ennobles us all.

             These prominent families used their resources to uplift generations of immigrants. Because of the decency of people like them, much of our nation today is housed, fed and ministered to. The children of the poor and working classes can, with the proper effort, attain the full fruits of the American Dream. Now, there are those in public office who would, through their actions, bring back the darkness. In national election years, the "have nots" don't usually fare too well. The politicians clothe their intentions in the self-righteous rhetoric of the "Haves."  They would leave the poor and the helpless to "develop character,” by "helping themselves." It isn't quite that simple. Sneakers have no bootstraps.

            The poor are classed as moochers by the smug and the fortunate. Ayn Rand's brand of Social Darwinism has become the creed of the self-righteous. But what of the weak, the sick, the old and the poor? Do we not owe them heed? Did not the Nazarene teach us that it was our duty to minister to them. Daily, I see the veiled attacks on the poor in the media. The election year litany rails against taxes, welfare, the cost of our schools and other expenses, that are the price of living in a free and compassionate society.         

         Have we so soon forgotten what it was like to be hungry and need a helping hand?  Have we so soon forgotten that it was only a few generations ago, that our own people weren't allowed to get an education or hope for a better life? Have we forgotten that each of our own  immigrant peoples were once called lazy and troublesome? Have we forgotten the despair and the hopelessness ?       

         The fault is only partly attributable to the electorate. Much of our political leadership has not the courage to lead. Idealism in government, like truth in packaging, is hard to find. Yes, it costs money to run the necessary social programs that help the poor. Yes, it costs money to fix the roads and open the Libraries. And Yes, it also costs money to keep open the senior citizens centers and provide Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security to those who need it.

           All of this must come from tax dollars. There is no free lunch and there never will be. Yet, constantly we hear the drum beaters cry, " we will lower your taxes."  That has rarely ever happened. Shifting the burden, from one level of government to another, is not lowering taxes. It is self-serving chicanery and fools no one. Cutting taxes sounds like pretty good news, until you find out that it is "your program" that is being cut. That, as Dorothy discovered in the " Wizard of Oz” is usually a "horse of a different color!"

           No one likes to pay taxes, myself included. Yet I ask each of you to look within yourselves. We give to charities, and we contribute to our churches and synagogues, because it is the right thing to do. It is what we were taught by our parents. Taxes, to fund necessary social programs that feed and clothe our needy, are also our obligation. We should demand of our political leadership the assurance that every dime collected in taxes, will be spent in the best and most efficient manner. We should ask them to spend our money frugally, as they would their own. We should also demand a strict accounting of our expenses, but not at the cost of children going hungry.

         In my Family, there were twelve children. We knew what it was like to go with out and to help each other. We shared what we had. As a society, we are an extended family and should do the same. People will rise to the level that is expected of them. I ask that collectively, we remember that much has been given us in this great land of ours.  Much is therefore expected of us. Remember the Golden Rule. It may be your family that needs a helping hand someday.

                                                 -30-

                                 Joseph Xavier Martin                      

                                         (1,092 words)