Several years ago, my brother-in-law died unexpectedly.

He was the breadwinner for his family. His wife suddenly became a single mother caring for their son. They struggled for a few years and nearly lost their home before my sister managed to find a decent paying job.

Thankfully, her school district provided free breakfast and lunch, so she just had to worry about providing one meal after working all day.

They didn’t fail to plan. They didn’t have a child outside of their budget. They were unlucky.

If the government takes $100 out of the $25k I pay in taxes every year to make sure a struggling family like my sister’s doesn’t have to starve, I fully support it.

The federal government has spent over 6 TRILLION dollars on the war in the middle east since 2001, or 305 billion dollars per year.

In 2019, the USDA spent 14.1 billion dollars to fund free lunches.

One year of war could pay for nearly 22 years of free lunches.

You realize, of course, that Americans are heading in that direction and have been for quite some time.

Every child should have their school meals paid for along with health care and a yearly stipend for purchasing books or musical instruments.

To those complaining about their taxes going to feed children, do you feel the same way about your taxes going towards feeding the military-industrial complex? At least some of your money is going towards something positive rather than lining the pockets of weapons manufacturers and politicians.

Our children are our future whether they are yours or someone else’s. It takes a village to raise a child.

Perhaps if the children of today are treated with empathy and respect they will grow into selfless people and eliminate the rampant culture of selfishness that so many suffer from.

What family, living in a $500,000 house, would ask their neighbors to feed their kids? But we somehow see “free” school lunches, for all, as something different?