Joe as a Rec. Center coach in the heart of Cleveland
Senator Katie Britt (R-AL) gave the Republican response to the State of the Union Address from her kitchen in what I am sure is a pretty nice, well-appointed, safe home in the suburbs. She echoed the predominant Republican talking points: a more secure border; a better economy; protecting the American Dream in general. Problem is: These are, for the most part, selfish talking points. A majority of people coming here from south of the border are in desperate straits from extreme abject poverty, cartel violence… The answer isn’t to shut them out. The answer is to have a simple, user-friendly asylum process, and concurrently, a sound vetting process. And middle-class, and up (like Ms. Britt’s family), Americans should be sacrificing their lifestyles to help as many people as possible make a solid transition to our country. Or, frankly, many of us are going to meet a (tall) border wall at Heaven. And on the better economy and the “America First,” protecting the American Dream deal… Once again, this, in its current paradigm, is so tremendously First World selfish — in the face of billions of people living in deplorable slum conditions world-wide. People who are continually food insecure world-wide, don’t have access to clean drinking water, adequate medicine, adequate schools… Note: And the reason for the photo above? For five years, our family did outreach in a hardscrabble part of Cleveland, amidst poverty, gang violence, drugs… These kids, these families, in our cities, have also been abandoned by many of our myopic pursuits, and upward ascent, of the American Dream as well. And, with some more sacrifices, we have the wherewithal to help them considerably too. For more on our experience in the city, see…