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A middle ground
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Thank you for the article by Ann Rodgers discussing different aspects of Catholic social thought pertaining to the coming elections ("For Local Catholics, How Issues Stack Up," Sept. 30).
As she points out, one area of tension between liberal and conservative groups is that the former group fears ignoring the poor as much as the latter group fears creating a welfare state.
But there might be a middle-ground position between these views which can easily be implemented by all of us outside the realm of politics.
We simply try to consume less of our natural resources than is necessary and thereby allow their prices to fall within reach of the poor among us.
For example, we often use corn and other grains to feed our livestock and to supplement our fuel instead of simply eating more of that grain ourselves.
We would not only reduce the upward pressure on the price of grain by doing this but also reduce the health problems of excessive meat consumption and excessive air pollution.
This might also reduce some of the resentment that people feel toward the wealthy nations which are often perceived as calloused consumers of the goods of the Earth.
JOSEPH CARDUCCI
Mt. Lebanon
First Published October 7, 2012 12:00 am
