Call LBJ in Hell!!

Since I am certain that the USA Today will not publish the letter I sent them today, it appears here.

To the Editor:

The photo on today's editorial page is proof that one picture is worth a thousand words. The sight of New Orleans residents sitting outside the Convention Center waiting for help is more than I can stand. These people are evidence of the failure of government social programs. Somebody call LBJ in hell and tell him that the Great Society is a failure. What, might you ask, am I talking about?

We have created a culture of "gimme" people that transcends all racial and gender lines. The people in your photo are sitting among piles of trash waiting for the government to help them. We have rescued these people for so long that they are now unable and unwilling to do anything for themselves. Who among the rest of us would sit surrounded by trash and do nothing to change it?? Those folks are all sitting there with that Alfred E. Neuman "What me worry?" attitude. If they cared about their city or themselves, they would get off their lazy butts and start picking up some of that trash around them. Much like the crowd at the Superdome who just heaped trash on the floor rather than use trash cans, these people are waiting for the government to come and clean up behind them. Let's put all these folks to work cleaning up THEIR city! Why pay a stranger to do it?

Don't waste your time telling me about the need for charity. Jesus told us to help the poor, he didn't say anything about the lazy.

Gilbert Jones