MacKinnon: Don't Fight Poverty!

At the Baltimore Sun, Douglas MacKinnon, former White House and Pentagon official is ideologically resigned to the belief that the poor will always be with us. He tells us that he's humbled and gratified that John Edwards has focused on Poverty during his 2008 presidential campaign. Sounds complimentary, doesn't it? At the same time, MacKinnon says he believes that Poverty should never seriously be the central part of any leader's political campaign.

"...as someone who was humbled by abject poverty, I appreciate the fact that, whatever his motivation, he has brought much-needed attention to an issue that begs for a constant media spotlight. It is gratifying, too, that upon his exit from the presidential campaign, Mr. Edwards said that Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama "have both pledged to me and, more importantly, through me to America, that they will make ending poverty central to their campaign for the presidency."

MacKinnon directly proceeds to turn off his so-called humble gratitude and appreciation, shifting gears to accuse John Edwards of political spin because of MacKinnon's own personal lack of faith that a change is indeed possible. It's no wonder that Conservatives have never seriously tried to end Poverty or create real-life solutions to the conditions in our society that breed poverty.

It's all about resignation. Failure registers with Conservatives from the get-go because of their personal notions. I could say "There will always be rape" and turn my head when one of my sisters is raped. Why imprison the rapist? There will always be rapists.

MacKinnon abuses John Edwards' reputation in order to draw a final conclusion that showing the face of the homeless and poor to the world is exploiting them rather than trying to call upon the people of this nation to finally wake up and ask their government to act.

It's no wonder so many young people in this nation are scrambling toward and thronging around the hopeful. MacKinnon makes a case - not for homelessness, but for hopelessness.