Reward, not Punish Good Deeds

Every once in a while, a news story comes along that causes me to just shake my head.  This summer a woman associated with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia was distributing free lunches to disadvantaged children in her neighborhood.  This got the attention of the local government, which decided to leave her alone this summer, but told her that next summer she would need to apply for a variance to a zoning regulation prohibiting distribution of food in a residential area.  She has the choice of paying up to $1000 for the variance or will risk being fined $600 per day.

Our governments should be encouraging, not discouraging these types of humanitarian deeds.  One must ask why they would spend time on something like this when there are far more serious issues to focus on.  It is easy to become cynical – “no good deed goes unpunished” – shrug my shoulders, and just accept the status quo.  Yet, in today’s electronic age, we have tools available to expose these types of regulations that inhibit charitable acts in our communities.  Let’s confront the ridiculous and direct our legislators make the necessary changes to reward, not punish good deeds.

Reference:  http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/woman-could-fined-600-giving-children-free-lunches-192644564.html?_esi=1

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons (Bidgee)