It is hard to argue that housing is not a fundamental human need. Decent, affordable housing should be a basic right for everybody in this country. The reason is simple: without stable shelter, everything else falls apart.
Man wanted a home, a place of warmth, or comfort, first of physical warmth, then the warmth of the affections.
You scour the Bowery, ransack the Bronx, / Through funeral parlors and honky-tonks. / From river to river you comb the town / For a place to lay your family down.
We like George Carlin’s humor, brashness, and irreverence. But his suggestion that golf courses should be used to end homelessness was an inappropriate quote to include in your February 2023 Sunbeams.
Golf courses are not wasted spaces, and golf is not a “meaningless, mindless activity engaged in primarily by white, well-to-do male businessmen,” as Carlin says. It is a sport of skill and coordination practiced by people of all ages, abilities, and genders. Most golf is played at public and municipal golf courses that serve as green spaces in cities and small towns. Golf courses provide an opportunity for folks from all walks of life to exercise and practice sports etiquette in a parklike setting among friends. There are better spaces to house the homeless.
