Life on Street

Life on the Street The United States is the richest country and a major leader in our modern world. Many people around the world believe that those of us living in the USA have better lives compared with those living in most other nations. But when I walk around San Francisco I experience a different reality. Our mild climate and tolerant culture are a magnet for the poor and hopeless from across this nation. In addition, the policies implemented by Ronald Reagan when he was governor of California, shutting down many publicly funded mental health institutions, have exacerbated the homeless problem here. Beyond that, the seemingly endless warfare, begun in earnest by the Bush Administration after 9/11 and continued under the Obama Administration, seems to have eroded both the will and the ability of the American public to care for its neediest. When I see homeless people, I wonder where is our humanity with so many people living, and dying, on the street?