Help the less fortunate

There is no better indicator that this nation’s moral compass has gone askew than the enormous divide between the wealthy and the impoverished. The reality of hungry, homeless people begging on our streets is a visible, daily reminder of this moral catastrophe.

What can one person do?

If you have the ability to give, give to a faith community, a food bank or a charitable organization. Or you can hand bags of food out of your car window directly into the hands of a hungry person.

I keep handy in my car a supply of lunch bags containing water, juice, Vienna sausage, cheese crackers and energy bars. They’re called “Johnny Ray Bags” for the Christian minister who proposed this simple, immediate act of charity. Try handing out one instead of calling in a complaint to the police when you pass someone begging for help.

We are truly our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, and I will vote on Nov. 8 with this truth foremost in my mind and heart.

This story was originally published October 13, 2016 at 7:43 PM with the headline "Help the less fortunate."