Karen House Catholic Worker
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Karen House Catholic Worker |
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Our Writings Check out these writings from individual Karen House community members. Return to Main Writings page here. Letters to the Editor Conveniences of the Privileged - Letter to the Editor James Meinert December 11, 2009 I have been disappointed with the Post-Dispatch's coverage of the U.S. Highway 40/Interstate 64 opening. In spite of the paper's Platform, which says it will "always oppose privileged classes and public plunderers," the paper has had nothing but praise for this $500 million project that was paid for to make the privileged classes' lives a little more convenient. Now those many cars (usually with only one person within) can get from the county to the city or the city to the county just a little quicker. |
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Karen House: 1840 Hogan St. St. Louis, MO 63106 314.621.4052 |
The story "An opening to celebrate" (Dec. 7) briefly mentioned Climate Action STL, activists who opposed the wastefulness of this project. The activists opposing this project see the link between our addiction to oil, the wars fought for this addiction, the money spent on Interstate 64 that make this addiction a little easier and the pollution this addiction spews into our air. The author mocked the activists' devotion to public welfare and sympathy with the poor by scoffing at them, saying, "Actually, the first people to put the new highway through its paces were the 2,500 runners and walkers." |
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I'm sure that more than 2,500 cars already have driven up and down the highway and will continue to do so.
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The Cost of Military Spending – Letter to the Editor TC Parsons June 4, 2009 Last week’s “Boeing battles for more C-17s,” makes a case for maintaining production of these $200 million planes, arguing that the production supports 900 St. Louis jobs. I find this interesting considering St. Louis recently lost 550 well-paying jobs as well as several Metro routes because of a $50 million budget deficit. For the cost of just one Cargolifter, we could restore metro and bus lines, and have money left over to begin to invest in places like our schools, or providing healthcare to the approximately 1.1 million Missourians who FamiliesUSA.org tells us were uninsured for 6 months or more in 2007. When we build infrastructure, we use it for decades. When we invest in our schools, our children become more productive members of society. When we invest in healthcare, we allow our families to live longer together. When we build warplanes, well, we wage war. There are plenty of important jobs to be created for Missourians without continuing to fund a plane, which is neither wanted nor needed. Let’s invest in ourselves, our people, and our future, not another flying hunk of metal.
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The Human Face of the Public Option – Letter to the Editor Annjie Schiefelbein September 11, 2009 Yesterday, while the country and world evaluated President Obama’s health care speech, I was with a young patient in the community health center where I am a Family Nurse Practitioner. She was recently admitted to the hospital for a medical condition requiring a simple procedure. During the procedure, a complication occurred, which forced this mother of three young children to stay in the hospital for nearly a month. She works full time, but does not have insurance - like many corporations in the U.S., her employer promises full time, but reduces employee hours to avoid paying for benefits. My patient, who is in considerable pain, was unable to get the follow up care she needed - refused an appointment and a needed follow-up test- because she has no insurance. She now faces a longer illness, a probable job loss because of time missed at work, and thousands of dollars of medical bills.
The “public” part of public option has a face and a name. She is your sister, your aunt, your mother. If you think that the system is working for people, you are wrong. The system is failing over 45 million Americans every day, and they are paying dire consequences - consequences those of us with privilege would not accept for ourselves or our loved ones.
Gandhi once said that a nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members. If we do not move forward, minimally, with the public option, we fail both as individuals and as a nation. |
