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Sour Grapes and Lemonade
09/26/2005

It seems no example of doing good in this world can fail to inspire resentment and interference.The devastation along the Gulf Coast has inspired an outpouring of charity. People have raised funds in all kinds of ways.You've probably heard a story or two about how kids with lemonade stands have been raising money for the victims. But not everybody appreciates such initiative. In Orlando, Florida, kids started up a lemonade stand for just this cause, but without universal applause. A neighbor made a formal complaint based on his alleged uncertainty about whether the money would really be going to help Katrina victims.Did the neighbor have reason to think a scam was going on? Well, no such reason was reported. Just the same, law enforcement, feeling obliged to investigate, dropped by to talk to the family. The kids were apparently not required to shut down their stand, but they felt somewhat intimidated and closed it anyway. Happily, not before raising $350 for the cause. In a single day of operation.Who knows what was eating this neighbor -- maybe he just didn't like all the traffic pulling up to the lemonade stand. But one man's minor inconvenience is another man's life preserver.It’s not the only incident of biting the hand that feeds you -- or that feeds somebody else -- that we've heard about. Incredibly, there have been stories about thugs in the New Orleans swamp shooting at rescuers. Maybe during times like these, obstructionists of all stripes could have the grace to stifle their normal impulses . . . Just a suggestion.
This is Common Sense
I'm Paul Jacob

commonsense@getliberty.org