Indignation ain't enough.

I walk the streets daily. But I have yet to encounter a panhandler in Italy. Maybe it's that I'm in Sardinia. And I'd like to think the Sardinians take care of their poor and destitute and homeless. Italy has over 2 million unemployed at the moment. But I'm told by my true love that there's a strong sense of family obligation. Families tend to take care of each other in bad times. Not always, of course. But maybe more so than in the USA. My true love used to live in Florence. And she often saw homeless people on the streets there. That's to be expected in the biggest cities. Here in Carbonia, it's a relatively small city. Barely 30,000 people. I haven't yet seen anyone that looks like he may be homeless. One will see a handful of beggars. Outside a church or cemetery. Almost always angelic-looking women. Mostly young. My true love gives. And encourages me to give. On the TV the other day, there was much ado over a 27-day old baby that died in Bologna. Of exposure. From the cold. The mother was homeless. Italians lamented. They keep asking, 'How could this happen? What went wrong with our social services system?' There's indignation. But like in the U.S., events like this will occur again and again. Apparently, indignation ain't enough. --Jim Broede