To those out there who believe that it’s all right to balance the budget by giving tax breaks to the rich, again; firing as many federal workers as possible; while at the same time cutting only programs that affect children, women, the poor, the elderly or anyone else without a voice to protect themselves or their right to vote — before you disenfranchise these people completely with your new voter I.D. laws, think about where you’ve been and where you’re going.

This is best expressed by George Washington Carver, a famous American born into slavery and from the depths of poverty rose to become a scientist, botanist, educator and inventor. His life is a striking example of this observation.

“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday you will have been all of these.”