Current headlines read that people have become discouraged and have given up looking for employment. The unemployed have used up all their unemployment entitlements and are now on other government programs.
That is now.
I was quite young when I became aware of what being unemployed was like, watching my dad trying to find work after he was forced to give up his dairy farm due to the depression. We had to leave the county and move to the city, joining countless others also looking for work.
That was then.
There were no government programs for the unemployed to turn to; they were forced to depend on the charity of their fellow citizens and places of worship. It was not unusual for a hobo to appear at the door asking for food in exchange for labor they were willing to do. Bread lines were formed by hungry people standing in line at a soup kitchen for a meal or something to take home to their families. It was mostly those in need helping other folks in greater need.
Now we have the food stamp program, and WIC to make sure infants get the proper nourishment, and no one goes hungry, thanks to the help of the local food banks. School lunch programs go a long way toward making sure youngsters get at least one good meal a day. The one thing that remains the same is that most folks who have to take advantage of the programs would rather be able work for a wage that would allow them to be off the government assistance programs.
I have also noticed what I would describe as situations that never existed before, for example, our neighborhood police department. We have a brand new police department a few blocks from where I live. It was completed a few months ago, and it looks like a fortress. The building is surrounded by a fence and locked gates, entirely inaccessible. I am certain the reason is that so many of our citizens are well armed, so perhaps the police think they have to protect themselves.
I guess that is why most police departments were grateful to receive the surplus firearms and vehicles from the recent war. I don’t care for the feeling I get when I see our police decked out in their wartime riot gear, arresting citizens who are marching or gathering in public places for a cause they believe in. It brings to mind the veterans of the First World War marching in Washington, D.C., for their promised entitlements, being fired upon by the militia.
Early on it was stressed that the police were there to help me, no matter what the problem. I always had a feeling of security and friendliness whenever I encountered our neighborhood policeman. I remember more than one of my young friends being returned by the police to their families after being lost. It was the police that rushed my little girl to the hospital after a black widow spider bit her when she sat on it.
The wars that we get ourselves into now are so different than the first wartime that I encountered. Now they are almost never referred to as wars. They are given names that are not so much warlike as police-like, but soldiers are killed just the same. I do not recall recently having to make any particular sacrifice in behalf of our “war efforts,” we simply leave the sacrifice up to the armed services, or as I’ve heard said, “that is what they get paid for.”
During World War II, I felt I was doing my part just as everyone was encouraged to do. It seemed we were all in it together, and everyone sacrificed for the “war effort.” Now our wars, or “actions,” seem to bring about division and no sacrifices on our part, and their cost will be paid for by future citizens.
When pledging allegiance now we include God. It was during the 1930s I learned to recite the pledge without God. Unfortunately, with or without God, we still do not have a more perfect union, nor do we have liberty and justice for all, although I am happy to note we are working on it.
Wanda York was born in 1929 on a small dairy farm in Arvada. She spent most of her youth in north Denver, near the Platte River, and returned to live in Arvada in 1992, where she now lives.
To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit or check out our for how to submit by e-mail or mail.
