Charity is one of those remarkable words that helps to identify the fault lines of a culture.
We believe that only government has the capacity--not to mention the political and moral responsibility--to promote the general welfare. Father Kramer as quoted in Sweet Charity?
Charity erodes the cultural prerequisites for a vigorous democracy.
By defining the problem as "hunger," the emergency food system is helping to direct our attention away from the more fundamental problem of poverty, and the even more basic problem of inequality.
