It is no great insight to suggest we are as divided today as we were in, say, 1860 or even scarier, 1933. I admit, I take some satisfaction out of the rapid slide in the popularity of a man who would be king, but it is still a troubling time.

We disagree on so many things it is almost refreshing to find an item that, I would assume, we can all agree on, and that is how every single child in Colorado, indeed in the United States and beyond, should have enough food to thrive, let alone avoid starvation. Surely basic human dignity means we feed children, regardless of where they live or how they live.

It was that great liberal (Editor: I see what you did there…) President Dwight David Eisenhower, a five-star general-turned-president who said in his famous 1953 “Cross of Iron” speech: “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” If you have a moment, I encourage you to listen to the very short song entitled “The Shortest Story” by the late, great Harry Chapin, which you may be able to play here. That’s YouTube music. If you can’t get it there, please do find it and listen to it.

As an aside, I cannot understand, regardless of the terrible and horrible things Hamas has done to Israel (on Oct. 7, 2023 and beyond) why Israel held back, and apparently continues to limit, food to the starving people of Gaza, but food as a weapon is for another column.

Here in Colorado, I was surprised to recently see the commercials running in support of statewide ballot measures LL and MM, as reported in Colorado Politics. Take a peek at the article, as I won’t repeat it all, but fundamentally, Colorado has a budget problem when it comes to feeding kids in school. The solution is complicated, but these proposals ask the top 6% or so of Colorado earners to pay a bit more so that we can ensure every kid gets to eat.

For far too many kids, coming from families with severe income problems, school represents several, and often all three, meals per day. Surely, we can agree of all the spending the state does, nothing is more important than feeding our kids? Can this possibly be opposed? Well, kind of. There are no organized anti-LL/MM groups, but I did see at least one advertisement claiming the measures are, sigh, just more tax grabs. Nonsense.

If you are in the top 6% or so of Colorado earners, these two propositions will increase your taxes by roughly $297 for single filers and $404 for joint filers per year. Again, this affects only those who make approximately $300,000 or more per year. I don’t qualify, as a retired military officer my income falls well below the threshold, but even if I were included, I’d be OK with paying an extra $1.10 per day to feed kids who otherwise wouldn’t eat.

If you are in the “bottom” 94% of earners, these propositions don’t affect you at all, though again, I would hope feeding hungry children would remain a priority. Heck, it is even in our economic interests, as well-fed kids have a much greater chance of growing up into productive, tax-paying citizens. And a strong argument can be made if you want to feed children in the most cost-effective manner, school meals are the best way to reach that goal.

And so, dear reader, I voted in favor of LL and MM when I turned in my ballot last week. I hope you will consider doing the same. If you are wealthy, surely a buck or so a day is worth the cost. Mahatma Gandhi once said “for the hungry, God may only appear in the form of bread.” In the 21st century, surely there can be no personal need, not public policy idea, that is more important, and more morally imperative, than feeding kids.

Hal Bidlack is a retired professor of political science and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who taught more than 17 years at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.