The deserving

Do those who complain about entitlements actually know any people who receive them? Allow me to describe three.

During my brother’s first Iraqi tour, the Army misplaced his paycheck. His family lost their income and eventually their home. My sister-in-law had to move in with relatives and accept WIC to feed their kids.

When my sister, a public schoolteacher, learned her son had a potentially fatal disease, her insurer refused (illegally) to pay for his treatments. She swallowed her pride and applied for Medicaid. Sadly, the disease claimed my nephew’s life before Medicaid became necessary.

When I entered the Air Force as a lieutenant, my salary didn’t quite stretch to food. I had a college degree, 30 men to command and millions of dollars worth of computers to manage – and yet I qualified for food stamps.

Do I think we deserved entitlements? Damn straight.

You know what else we deserved? The compassion and respect of a grateful nation.

Elizabeth Langston

Cary