As the data from the past decade clarify, there is no evidence that poverty causes crime but a great deal of evidence that crime causes poverty. By aligning themselves against the police, against commonsense tactics like stop and frisk, against metal detectors in public housing, against swift and certain punishment, and for a broad array of legal protections for accused criminals, liberals helped to aggrieve the lives of the poor and society as a whole.
Mona Charen[T]he sprawl of government into every conceivable realm of life has caused the withering of traditional institutions. Fathers become unnecessary if the government provides Aid to Families with Dependent Children. Church charities lose their mission when the government provides food, shelter and income to the poor. And the non-poor no longer feel pressed to provide aid to those in need, be they aged parents or their unfortunate neighbors-"compassion" having become the province of the state.
Mona CharenAbused And neglected children have paid the price for liberalism's tendency to sentimentalize the poor.
Mona CharenThe notion that the UN is some sort of dispassionate body that, โdoes rightโ and just pursues everybodyโs best interests is a fantasy. Each individual nation will be pursuing their best interests. Thatโs the normal behavior of nation-states. It shouldnโt surprise us, but neither should we go to them for permission to do whatโs in our national interests.
Mona CharenLiberalism in various guises - feminism, the sexual revolution, gay activism - has been at war with marriage and family for several decades now. And when do-gooders look around at the wreckage of human lives caused by disintegrating families, they call for government to act as father, mother, brother, and sister.
Mona Charen