Pictured are today’s harvest of nails from the streets around my neighborhood. Actually, one of them turned out to be a bobby pin. I’ve been picking up nails since I was 10. Originally, I was looking for coins. I don’t know how many thousands of flat tires I’ve saved my neighbors over the years.

Long ago, there was a religious TV show called “The Christophers.” Here’s their theme song:

“O if everyone would light just one little candle…

What a bright world this would be!”

Little Things Are Nice, but Big Things Matter

I don’t recommend going around doing nice little things. I wouldn’t even pick up the nails if I weren’t exercising to begin with. If you give $5 to a panhandler, does that mean it’s OK to support drone warfare? If you go to church on Sunday, can you rip off your employees all week?

Everybody’s heard the quote about giving a man a fish and teaching him to catch his own fish. Here’s a similar quote:

“When I feed the poor, they call me a saint.

When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.”  — Dom Helder Camara, Archbishop of Recife, Brazil

Billionaires Do Charity

Billionaires believe in charity. They even donate to it, although proportionally much less than poor people do. Billionaires also believe in government handouts for the rich and austerity for the poor. It’s easy to get confused when we’re talking about little things.

Americans need a change. A big change, not just a little one. That’s what we should be working on.

–Gene Lantz