Spend time with less-fortunate and learn

My father was a very successful man. He came from far southern Illinois with a sixth-grade education and worked as a mechanic in Gary, Indiana. A few years later, he was the owner-manager of an automobile parts store. When WW2 broke out, he sold his business and went to work as a ship builder at the Seneca shipyards.

After the war, he and his brother-in-law bought a Pontiac car business. He was awarded a prize for being the best dealer in the country. He was a perfect Republican. His favorite saying was, “I make mine; I keep mine. You make yours; you keep yours.

He had no sympathy for the sick, homeless or poor. If a dime would save a life, it would be too bad. His wife (my stepmother) had her own solution to poverty, illness and homelessness, “Just snap out of it.”

Having worked in the PADS and food kitchens, I have seen that the problem is deeper than “Just snap out of it.” Unlike my family, my wife and I donate a lot to the food bank as things feel a little better with a full stomach.

But this is typical of the Republican Party — they have no sympathy for the unfortunate. It’s the party of YOYO (You’re On Your Own). It has been regularly attempting to stop Social Security, health care, Medicare or anything else that helps the needy.

I wish that every Republican should have to spend time with the homeless and the poor just to see how life really is and not the well off.

Raleigh Sutton

Elgin