The Other America
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9287641/site/newsweek/
An Enduring Shame: Katrina reminded us, but the problem is not new. Why
a rising tide of people live in poverty, who they are-and what we can
do about it.
By Jonathan Alter
Newsweek
Sept. 19, 2005 issue - It takes a hurricane. it takes a catastrophe
like Katrina to strip away the old evasions, hypocrisies and
not-so-benign neglect. It takes the sight of the United States with a
big black eye-visible around the world-to help the rest of us begin
to see again. For the moment, at least, Americans are ready to fix
their restless gaze on enduring problems of poverty, race and class
that have escaped their attention. Does this mean a new war on poverty?
No, especially with Katrina's gargantuan price tag. But this disaster
may offer a chance to start a skirmish, or at least make Washington
think harder about why part of the richest country on earth looks like
the Third World.
Jonathan Alter
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.atheism/msg/c90f31ce098f8692
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