Commentary

When the conversation goes deeper than “Hello, how are you doing?” and the weather has been covered, the economy is invariably the next topic of discussion. It was during this week of Thanksgiving so many years ago when those pilgrims gathered to celebrate the bounty of harvest. Survival in this new world, as in the old, was contingent upon having enough food. Today, the politically correct term for “having enough food” is “food secure.”

The recently released annual “Food Security in the United States 2009″ report found that 17.4 million households in the United States of America had difficulty providing enough food because they couldn’t afford it. In more than one third of the households reporting difficulty in providing enough food, at least one member did not get enough to eat at some time during the year and normal eating patterns were disrupted.

In America, nearly 15% of households were food insecure in 2009. That’s a record high. Although the numbers aren’t in for 2010, we do know the number of people on food stamps in this country is at a record high.

Oklahoma City-based “Feed the Children” states that 12 million American children are at the risk of going hungry.

I feel blessed every day to have not only enough to feed my own family, but to share with others. It is difficult for many of us to imagine an empty larder, but I guarantee that you and I know people, whether they are friends or acquaintances or maybe even family, who go to bed hungry some nights. Their pride might keep them from letting you know, but there food insecure people in our rural communities.

According to the United States Department of Labor, the number of unemployed persons in October totaled 14.8 million. The unemployment rate remained at 9.6%.

12 million children. 17.4 million households. 15% of American households. 14.8 million Americans.

The year is 2010. Charitable contributions to animal rights activist group Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) brings in more than $130 million each year.

HSUS claims to be supported by 11 million Americans, or 1 out of every 28.

Over the course of several months this year, HSUS, headquartered in Washington, D.C. poured a lot of money into the Midwest – specifically this time, into the state of Missouri. A whopping $2.12 million from HSUS coffers was invested in the Proposition B campaign, which forces dog breeders to comply with strict guidelines for feeding and housing animals. (Strict and ridiculous guidelines on top of existing laws regulating dog breeders in Missouri.)

HSUS spent $2.12 million to kill jobs in Missouri. What if they had given that money to the state to hire more people to assist in enforcing existing laws? What if HSUS would use that money to build shelters for dogs that would employ people? $130 million would go a long way in creating jobs and building communities.

It breaks my heart to think that a child will lie down on a piece of cardboard under a tattered blanket in a make-shift shelter, hungry, tonight. It also breaks my heart to know that soon, the owner of a reputable kennel will go to bed knowing that if one of his dogs knocks a piece of dry food into its water bowl, or if a cobweb – not unlike the ones I find in my own living room hours after cleaning – shows up in the corner of the kennel, he could be charged with a misdemeanor.

This is happening in the United States of America, friends. These numbers just don’t add up.