COMPASSIONATE ACTIONS EXCLUDE THE GOVERNMENT

During these times when the extent of government involvement in social pro~grams is being debated, with no one seeming to have a good argument to make, we find a measure of hope and tremendous good will in an effort being undertaken by families in Perry and Ste. Genevieve counties. The endeavor is known as Project St. Isidore, named for the patron saint of farmers, and involves the sharing of food from rural areas with less fortunate residents in St. Louis. About 100 families in a half-dozen Catholic parishes plant extra rows in family vegetable plots and send the surplus produce (via volunteered transportation) to an urban distribution point.

In its eighth year, the project seems stronger than ever. Further, many of those involved in the operation of this effort are children, meaning another generation is being taught lessons of caring for fellow humans. And in contrast to the national debate on social programs, this endeavor involves no government agencies, no red tape, no bureaucratic overhead ... only people helping people. It is an ongoing act of compassion in which all sides are winners.

A near-tragedy in Cape Girardeau last week again pointed out the need for in~stalling and maintaining one of society's most elementary bits of technology: the smoke detector. An apartment building blaze injured one man seriously and required that others in the complex be rescued from upper floors by a fire department ladder truck. Had the fire commenced in the middle of the night, when no person was awake to notice it, the potential for fatalities would have been significantly higher. The building involved was well-constructed for limiting the spread of a fire, though it failed to comply with codes mandating smoke detectors. These detectors are inexpensive and almost maintenance free. They can also save lives. Why is something so fundamental and critical so frequently disregarded? Homeowners and landlords should take note.

Last month, a United States delegation attended the Earth Summit in South America and heard nations of the world blame America for not doing enough to remedy global environmental problems. This month, American representatives showed up in The Netherlands for an international conference on AIDS; they were informed by other nations that the Bush White House was not doing enough to find a cure for the disease. When nations of the world get together these days, they tend to make a sport of picking apart U.S. activity regarding the problem of the moment.

It makes you wonder how Americans get up in the morning, bearing such a burden of blame for the world's woes. Maybe the next time a Middle East despot annexes a neighboring country, the United States should keep its remedies to itself, secure in the widely held belief that our bastion of democracy would only make a mess of things.

Nah, then America would probably just get blamed for inaction.