Document Title

Chapter 13

THE DOG ATE MY LUNCH.

For whatever reason a person ends living on the street, it is always a comfort to know one has help from the government. After all, there are programs for poor people, aren't there? The poor are being taken care of some way, aren't they? Every so often there is something on T.V. about something that is being done for the poor. Surely T.V. wouldn't lie.

When I was a kid, my folks used to tell me to clean my plate, and think about the hungry kids in China. I was never to concerned about the hungry kids in China because I didn't personally know any of them. I couldn't have named five of them if my life depended on it.

Nowadays, in this country, if you aren't careful you will meet hungry people. They will be standing out on the street with signs that say, "I will work for food." I am sure that many people drive by those folks and say to themselves, there is some catch to the offer. Surely they wouldn't do much if you just feed them. After all, doesn't everyone in America have enough to eat? It is just those poor kids in China that we have to worry about. It's those kids some place else, that we can't see, that is the problem.

Here in this Christian country we have food stamp programs to keep people eating because we respect human dignity. We value the individual, don't we? Of course, there is the red neck work ethic talk. It says we have those wonderful social programs in our country for the betterment of mankind. This shows that we operate out of the pure milk of human kindness. The problem is, the red necks claim, you can't get anybody to work anymore. Everybody just wants to lay up in bed and let welfare take care of them. The only work that these people do, say the red necks, is to drive their Welfare Cad, down to collect their food stamps.

My what fantasies some of us have.

If the truth wasn't so terrible it would be funny. Sure there is some welfare fraud. Anyone on the street knows that you can't be totally honest in this system and survive. Sometimes the welfare experience is so dehumanizing.

In another chapter I explained why the news is self-censored to protect the rich. What I am about to present to you I sent to several major news papers. The events are real. If you did not read it in your news paper, it may have been because it didn't get printed. I wonder why?

As far as I know no one ever published any part of the letter that I sent to them. This letter represents the type of news that doesn't get printed. It represents what is really happening in poor America. It is the attitude taken by all the major bureaucracies that I have thus far encountered.

Most of the folks who need these services would never think of writing the editor of a newspaper. This is because they have already discovered that despite what the school books teach us about the wonders of our constitutional rights, they have no rights. Within most bureaucracies these rights are only given lip service. There is little respect for anyone in need. They have the real world to deal with.

This bureaucratic attitude didn't just start yesterday.

It is something that has gone on through the ages. I am writing about what goes on in this country because it is the country that I know about. It is where I live. Politicians have been lying to their people here for years. I have suspected this has gone on for thousands of years in every country. People have grown to expect it.

Let us look at what Socrates said.

In his dissertation on justice, in the work called, " The Republic," when ask about honesty, in his utopian society, "by all means, he believed that the citizens of a society should be scurrilously honest. When asked, " What about the leaders? " He relied, that of course, the leaders would be expected to lie to the enemy. The leaders would also have to lie to the people, but that would be only for the peoples' own good. After reading this passage in," The Republic," I was mad at Socrates for a week.

Then someone pointed out that he probably didn't care, since Socrates had been dead all these years. It is most unfortunate that what did not die, was Socrates' attitude. The only difference in the way government treats its' people today is now they lie about lying to the people.

What I am about to share with you is a prime example of how the poor are treated by the bureaucrats, despite the lies told to the middle class, who are to hypnotized by the media to worry about because their turn to be poor may be just around the corner, with the cold facts of the national debt staring at us. Let's look at a quick preview of the real attitude a typical government bureaucracy is likely to exhibit. This is what it will be like when it is your turn be poor. Then maybe you'll want to explore some alternatives to this happening in your life as it has in mine.

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Being poor is a lot of work. It is very puzzling and complex. It is not so bad if you choose to ignore the Bureaucrats that were designated to deal with poverty. If you play the game you can expect a perplexing experience. I was all right until a friend of mine suggested that I get on Food Stamps. Before that I was a normal self-respecting hobo. I got my food regularly from local dumpsters, which overflow with an abundance of food. I spent many enjoyable hours not looking for work, reading books, and talking to interesting people. After all why try? Jobs are hard to get. If you do get one, it won't pay enough to live like a human anyway.

As a hobo, my summers were spent swimming in streams, hiking, feasting, girl watching, and working with non-drinking alcoholics, on a voluntary bases.

Generally, I was having fun. I've been doing this (at the time of this writing) for about 8 years. The last four years I've done it sober. While sober, I've recovered enough from my alcoholism to be paranoid. (I have gone much further than this since the origin of this writing, I have now become annoyed.) Actually, I may not be paranoid, and that is really scary.

My situation is complicated.

This is because I have to deal with the bureaucracy. Most recently, I was in the food stamp office because a dog ate my entitlement card. I am talking about the card that allows me to pick up the stamps. That was the old system, now it works just like American Express. I went prepared for the usual dehumanizing two and one half hour waiting period. I knew that this would be combined with insults to my human intelligence. The system is such that if you arrive on time you have to wait 2 ½ hours. If you arrive 15 minutes late you are canceled. You have to make another appointment. This is so you will be sure to know that your time is worthless. This is to devalue your human worth.

I had previously exprenced the hour and a half waits for service on the pay phone. This is a standard I've become accustom to. In person, it was more like 2 and ½ hours. After the customary wait, I was informed that Texas Employment had notified me to show up for a job search. I hadn't showed up for the job search. The reason was, I was never notified. They were not going to give me food stamps. Never mind that T.E.C. didn't send a notice. Nevermind that the post office didn't deliver it. Nevermind that if they delivered it that it still never got to me. I had been docked 2 months worth of food stamps.

The lack of stamps didn't bother me. The abundance of food in the dumpsters here in Austin is well known. What I missed was the change I got when I cashed two dollars worth of stamps for purchases over $1.01.(They have now fixed this with the use of the plastic card. You get no change) With this change I could ride the bus, and make phone calls, and buy stamps for letters like this one.

Have you ever hunted a job without a phone or transportation?

If you have received the wonderful treatment from your local bureaucracy that I have, I would enjoy hearing from you. Maybe I could take the letters and show them to some of our concerned politicians. I would like to express my gratitude for the wonderful and respectful treatment that we receive from our efficiently run bureaucracies. Communication is the poor's only hope. Our Government doesn't respond to individual poor people unless the press focuses attention on the problems. I didn't say anything about the food stamp lady, sicking the security guard on me when I tried to question the logic of the situation.

That is what happened when I went in to get a replacement card for the one that the dog ate. This happened in January. The hearing regarding the dog eating my card was in July. There is nothing like speedy action. You can always expect such speed when dealing with a caring bureaucracy. This experience of dealing with poverty has allowed me to see where improvements need to be made.

I only mention this here to make you aware of the situation that the poor face. If you are in a position of responsibility you could give yourself a lot of peace of mind. You could work towards making the poorest life on the planet more acceptable. Why will this give you peace of mind? When we raise the bottom for collective humanity, we ensure the maximum depth we might sink to. In case we face hard times again it will not be all that bad. There now, that should be a selfish enough reason for you to act. It is like buying insurance against hard times. If you are experiencing good times right now, support the organizations that are helping the poor of our country. It is that simple.

I believe that there is a great change coming to this world.

I am aware of a spiritual awakening that is happening even as I am writing this book. I want this book to be a part of that awakening. I did not get sober in order to live in poverty. Certainly I did not sober up to live under an oppressive governmental bureaucracy.

Let me tell you what happened when I started to write this book. First, I found out about computers. I learned how to use one down at the public library. To do this, I just kept bugging people till they showed me how to use one. Before I knew what was happening, I was living indoors once again. The system that works can be used to fix the system that doesn't. There were government programs to help me move indoors. The reason I moved indoors was so that I could have a place to plug in a computer.

Next, I learned about going on line with my computer. That was a big step forward. I believe that the reason that conditions have remained so crazy here on planet earth is because of lack of communication. We now have the means to communicate. The computer is a tool for mankind to communicate with. I live in a town that has almost 400 Computer Bulletin Boards in it. I have one of those boards. My board is call PhredNet. It is about Food, Clothing, transportation, and Shelter. You can contact people for whom you wish to work, or trade items of value. The things traded could be physical, or just good ideas. I am operating this board free of charge. I do accept donations of any kind. That way I can spread the effort.

I have now gained a government grant to buy equipment.

I will soon start the PhredNet News Paper. The use of communication tools could make a difference. You can contact PhredNet on line with your computer at (512)452-3970. The voice line is (512)452-3923. On PhredNet you may freely bitch about the poor service you have had from your local Bureaucracy. Lets stay in touch with the local and federal Politicians. We can see to it that our discomfort gets passed on to them. Better yet, why don't we make positive suggestions for change? We have outlined much of what is wrong with the present system of government. Of course, I could be wrong. Life may all an illusion. This could be a dream that God had one night. If so, let us make the reality of such a dream enjoyable. After all, if this reality is God's dream, let us keep it a dream, and not a nightmare.

Let me tell you a problem that I am having with one part of God's dream.

The problem is people involved in phoney religion. As far as I know, Christ never organized a building fund. He tramped around the country with his 12 followers, doing good. Nowadays people erect beautiful churches. If anyone poor wanted to use these buildings they would be arrested. There are people who do not have the basics in life. These churches will help them as long as they can avoid direct contact with the poor. Maybe I am being a little hard on churches. Christ said to feed his sheep. Today most churches just want the poor to get the flock away from them. The poor really need help. There is a job that government is not doing. Churches need to be aware of how they could help. If for no other reason, so they can feel guilty for not doing it.

Chapter 13

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