As John Edwards' campaign is seemingly being pushed to the sidelines, I have got to ask, who will stick up for the majority of Americans who are suffering from economic injustice? Is it the American way to stick our heads in the sand and ignore the millions of Americans who are without insurance, without jobs or with jobs with diminished futures, with houses that are likely to be repossessed and public assistance that is rapidly eroding?
It can be said that John Edwards may be the wrong messenger to tell this story, after all, he is not in that boat. But at least he is telling the truth about what really matters in our great nation. We have always done better by raising the quality of life for the poorest among us, in fact that is the greatest legacy of our history--the expansion of the middle class.
I was fortunate enough to overhear a conversation between two elderly women in a doctor's waiting room yesterday and was tickled to hear them talk about the proposed tax cut that President Bush has made in less than glowing terms. One woman said that at least she'd be able to meet her prescription co-pay if she got the check, but didn't really think it was going to help anybody but the banks. "With all the money that people owe," she said, "I expect that people will just try to pay off their credit cards."
And isn't that the problem in the US right now? Aren't we trying to deal with past sins? Whether it is the war or the national debt, we are paying for the sins of the fathers. In the meantime, poor men, women, and children are suffering.
So who will pick up the mantle and address the real needs of the country? On the one side, there is the battle for experience versus hope, on the other, there is the fight between us and them. I believe in hope, but hope with a plan to raise people out of poverty is the only plan that should be on the table.
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