"If a hungry person is caught stealing bread, then the people of that country should feel ashamed."

@GuyWithOpinions 💯💯💯

@iamBen Also American here. I was taught to give to good causes and so I do. NONE of my friends do (found this out last night). Not a single one of them donates to a cause that helps the needy (they donate, but to more political stuff which I stay away from).

@IAmJess I'm like you, though I wasn't taught that. I just ended up there.

@Casheyane You raise good points. Some people choose not to provide for themselves and steal instead. No doubt. And these people should be appropriately punished.

But, if we are talking about the theft of food (and not other things like luxeries), I would propose that most people stealing food are doing so because they or a loved one is hungry and they are, for some reason, incapable of providing food some other way.

And no one in any modern society should be in that situation. That's what I think the quote is referring to.

@MasterLee I hope I'm not coming across as guilting anyone into anything. That certainly is not my intent. My friends last night all donated to causes important to them, but they were mostly political causes. And that just surprised me. That's the only motivation behind this post. Btw, I love that you help veterans. A very worthy cause. 🪖

@IAmJess political donations are selfish

@MasterLee Right? I agree. I almost said as much last night, but I held my tongue. If I give to a political cause that I support because I want that thing to happen, then I'm essentially just supporting a future for me and my way. Right? I so wanted to say that didn't count, but I didn't.

@SunshineGirl Agree completely!

@ElRengo 👍🏻

@2ndtimeguy Yes ... If you become aware that someone is hungry and cannot find food ... Do you have an obligation as another human being to help them? I think we do.

@Thrust okay, maybe not literally starving. Just struggling to pay rent and not being able to afford healthcare, while the big boss earns more than he can spend no matter how hard he tries to waste it.

@IAmJess Not as the only factor, but would a company be able to make billions with the boss as the only worker?

@NerdyPotato


Virtually every full time employee here gets employer subsidized health care. Typically employer pays 80% of the bill. What the employee contributes is also tax free.

When Roosevelt froze wages here during WWII this came to be as the only way to pay employees more (during a severe worker shortage)

Obviously some are better than others

@NerdyPotato Thank you! I like that you said "in a civilized socoety" ... that really what it is, right? Doesn't this, in a way, define what a civilized society is??

@IAmJess in my opinion, yes. Civilization can be measured by how people take care of each other.

@NerdyPotato Agreed. We need to look out for each other to a certain degree.

@IAmJess It is good to provide food security in society. But it should be in such a way that should not promote laziness and negligence of one's duties.

@ABCDEF7 I don't disagree.

@IAmJess What else it needs to agree?

@ViciDraco Valid point. Let's then expand from country to world. We are very far from not being able to feed the world. We produce way more food than the human race could eat in a year. We just waste a ton.

@IAmJess At a global level I would definitely agree. I am a one human family type of person. Our value is measured by how we treat the least of us, not by how high someone can rise by walking upon the backs of others.

@ViciDraco "Our value is measured by how we treat the least of us"
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@Ducky Of course you are right. But, as others have said here, in a civilized society, no one should be hungry.

@FreeSpirit1 I don't think that is implied in the quote. Rather, I think it is saying that in a modern civilized society, no one should be hungry.

@SStarfish good point.

@SStarfish Well, no. No one should steal anything. But if someone is so poor that they need to steal food, is the problem with society? I think there is an argument to be made that, yes, the problem is with the society.