Horne column addresses food stamps, assistance in a fair manner

To the editor:

Thank you to Bill Horne for his timely address of food stamps and public assistance in his March 13 HCP column.

When I was growing up, my parents were schoolteachers and by no means wealthy. If you heard the phrases,"welfare," or "food stamps," they were said

with a negative connotation, considerable disdain, and usually in reference to other people.

Many people were taught by people with socially sanctioned prejudices that there was something inherently stigmatizing about having to

rely upon public assistance for support. As Mr. Horne so accurately asserts, many people today, not only within our small local community, but all over the country, are finding themselves in the heretofore unheard-of position of needing help from their county and state governments for basic survival and sustenance.

The notion that the lack of empathy and social stratification that comes along with this phenomenon is as societally damaging as the economic phenomenon that precipitated it itself is indeed an important one to consider. It is one thing for so many previously prosperous families to find themselves in a position of need and desperation, but quite another to have to confront nuances of prejudice and judgment from others in the community because of it.

Living in a community as small and close-knit as Hillsboro and Highland County, it is just as easy for one to run into a person without a job and living out of their car as to encounter a more affluent person in a position of public influence or office. Why, then, are we so quick to draw class distinctions between the haves and have nots when we are really just one community of diversified individuals?

While today someone might find themselves and their family getting by, they may in fact be only one layoff away from financial disaster.

Mr. Horne also mentions in his afore-referenced column the disparity between the generous aid offered by Americans to the citizens of other, impoverished countries when disaster strikes them, and the unmet needs that exist within our own country.

While I do believe that we should not turn away from other nations in crisis, strengthening our own people and economy is one way to help others. The stronger we are as a nation, the more assistance we will be able to provide others.

Sincerely,

Juliane A. Cartaino

Hillsboro

To the editor:

Thank you to Bill Horne for his timely address of food stamps and public assistance in his March 13 HCP column.

When I was growing up, my parents were schoolteachers and by no means wealthy. If you heard the phrases,"welfare," or "food stamps," they were said with a negative connotation, considerable disdain, and usually in reference to other people.

Many people were taught by people with socially sanctioned prejudices that there was something inherently stigmatizing about having to rely upon public assistance for support. As Mr. Horne so accurately asserts, many people today, not only within our small local community, but all over the country, are finding themselves in the heretofore unheard-of position of needing help from their county and state governments for basic survival and sustenance.

The notion that the lack of empathy and social stratification that comes along with this phenomenon is as societally damaging as the economic phenomenon that precipitated it itself is indeed an important one to consider. It is one thing for so many previously prosperous families to find themselves in a position of need and desperation, but quite another to have to confront nuances of prejudice and judgment from others in the community because of it.

Living in a community as small and close-knit as Hillsboro and Highland County, it is just as easy for one to run into a person without a job and living out of their car as to encounter a more affluent person in a position of public influence or office. Why, then, are we so quick to draw class distinctions between the haves and have nots when we are really just one community of diversified individuals?

While today someone might find themselves and their family getting by, they may in fact be only one layoff away from financial disaster.

Mr. Horne also mentions in his afore-referenced column the disparity between the generous aid offered by Americans to the citizens of other, impoverished countries when disaster strikes them, and the unmet needs that exist within our own country.

While I do believe that we should not turn away from other nations in crisis, strengthening our own people and economy is one way to help others. The stronger we are as a nation, the more assistance we will be able to provide others.

Sincerely,

Juliane A. Cartaino

Hillsboro