Day 291: On Soup Kitchens, Elections & My Friends

Paul Ryan, the would-be vice president of the United States, has got me thinking today. More precisely, Ryan’s visit to a Youngstown, Ohio soup dinner last week has me thinking and pondering and wondering and realizing a few things. For that, I have to thank Ryan because, although he and I share next to nothing in the way of political beliefs, he has made me come to see a few faults with myself that I’ve exhibited this political season and that I’m not that proud of.

But first, for the uninformed, here’s what is certain about Ryan’s visit: He, his wife, and several members of his team dropped by a soup kitchen in Ohio. Ryan asserts he did so to pay kudos “for doing what you do. This is what makes society go. It makes it work. Helping people.” The president of the Mahoning County’s St. Vincent De Paul Society that runs the facility, however, says Ryan’s party didn’t have permission and “ramrodded their way” in. Reportedly, Ryan donned an apron, washed dishes that were already clean, and stayed roughly 15 minutes total without serving a meal. Ryan’s camp says they called ahead and got the OK.

Personally, I’ll take the word of a faith-practicing man dedicated to running a soup kitchen over a politician. Any politician, that is. But I’ll leave it to you to make up your own mind. The thing is I’m not even all that upset with what Ryan apparently tried to pull. Um, politicians and photo-ops aren’t anything new. They happen every day and in every way. We’ve seen that “let me kiss your baby” scam going down for generations, right? No, what has me pissed, and honestly fairly well depressed, is that according to the president of the society running the soup kitchen, many donors prior to Ryan’s visit have pulled their support following the visit due to how Ryan was depicted later on. This despite the soup kitchen president assuring anyone interested that his is an organization that’s apolitical. As he stated, "If this was the Democrats, I'd have the same exact problem."

Here’s where my disappointment in myself comes in. Upon reading all this and staying current on the developments, there was no hesitation in my mind whatsoever to form thoughts of, “typical republican bullshit--party first, people second.” But maybe because this situation in particular involved a soup kitchen, I did some deeper, longer thinking, and today, for whatever reason, saw errors in my ways. And although I’m somewhat embarrassed with myself, I’m thankful.

Each summer for two years now, I’ve helped raise money for the local People's City Mission, a homeless shelter that provides the homeless population all kinds of generosity and assistance, including a place to sleep, clothing, and meals. When I write “helped raise money,” what is more accurate is that I sought the help of friends and family to donate money for the cause. During the first summer they helped raise more than $1,500. This past summer, their help brought in close to another $1,000. Not huge sums of money, but nothing to sneeze at, either. Ultimately, that money helped serve a lot of warm meals that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible.

What’s important about this and how it relates to Ryan and the Ohio soup kitchen is that it's made me stop to remember that many of those friends and family who so kindly gifted money to my cause aren’t on the same political page as me. How do I know? Some of these people I’ve known for decades, and their political affiliations aren’t a real big secret. In other cases, I’ve read their Facebook posts over the past few months and pretty easily deduced they don’t prescribe to my way of thinking. They've read mine, as well. I lobbed some political grenades in the directions of republicans. They’ve lobbed some back. I engaged in an argument here and there, and more times that I can count, I’ve made careless judgments based entirely on someone’s political view, conveniently putting aside that they're entitled to their opinions every bit as much as I am to mine. More importantly, I somehow failed to remember that these people are generous, giving, kind, caring souls. They’re republicans. They’re Romney backers. They’re Obama detractors. Their ideologies don’t jibe with mine. But they gave, and I’m fairly certain they give elsewhere and most likely they give often.

Sometimes, I’m prone and even eager to judge someone’s strong convictions concerning matters that don't align with mine as being misguided and even wrong. Just as often I'm prone to prop my positions up as being pious. Simply put, I’m guilty of honing in on the stereotypes from time to time. I guess that’s not too surprising given the amount of hatred and ill will that’s been in the air this presidential election. But stereotypes aren’t the whole enchilada and often, they're  dangerous. Thanks for reminding me, Paul Ryan. And thanks to my friends, all my friends, who gave and give to others in need.

Speaking of which, I'm pretty sure this place can use everyone’s help:

Mahoning County St. Vincent De Paul Society

P.O. Box 224

Youngstown, Ohio 44501.