March 9, 2026—I took Rebe on a walk to the far side of our neighborhood park today and found two tents with assorted paraphernalia. No one was around to claim them, but they didn’t seem to be abandoned.

If you’re not familiar with such setups, you’re lucky. These are the visible signs that our organized society has abandoned loving kindness.

Not all of society, of course. But enough to favor war over social safety nets. I would even guess that those are not a majority of society. But they are organized in a way that gives them say over what our government does.

Those who favor putting people out on the streets and into parks talk about things like incentives. They say you can’t give people benefits unless they work. In the 1800s the English demanded work from Irish peasants before they could receive benefits during the potato famine. A few years ago, we visited Ireland and saw the walls these people built, standing in cold water. The English had surpluses of food. A million died. A million left. Many came to America.

Next week we’ll be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day without a thought about the cruelty that brought the Irish to these shores.

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