Something Made Me Cry Today

As I was walking down Shattuck in Berkeley on my lunch break today, an old lady in a barely audible whisper said to me, "Spare some change?" Like the cold hearted person I normally am, I continued walking on for a block until I reached my destination. When I arrived there, it finally occurred to me that this woman was about 80 years old and appeared to have at least spent a few nights on the street. What if this was my grandma? It hit me hard. I couldn't control the tears. I haven't cried in a while, so I guess I was due. These days I don't have too much to cry about. How could I just keep walking? I went back and handed her a dollar, which in hindsight, is nothing. I probably should have taken her to lunch at least. I'm sure she could use the company too.

How can we as a wealthy nation allow elderly people to live on the street? I am a registered Libertarian and I believe in small government. I believe charity should mostly be a private activity, but when it comes to elderly people living on the street, suddenly I feel a little leftist. Socialized health care is one of the few areas I really disagree with my party on. I so strongly believe that every human, regardless of citizenship or anything else, deserves good medical and psychiatric care. Most of the seemingly healthy, young people who live on the streets do suffer some mental disturbance, and maybe if they had proper treatment could function well enough to not be homeless. And when it comes to the elderly living on the street, that too is a health care issue. This woman was surprisingly agile for being about 80, but that won't last too long on the streets.