Letter: When Compassion Becomes Comparison

Melissa Kanmacher challenges how we talk about generosity and inequality, urging that tough conversations about broken systems must not shame those who give, or those who receive.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Dear Editor,

I believe deeply in hard conversations. We need them to see clearly, confront uncomfortable truths, and refuse to accept a world that fails too many. I also believe, just as deeply, in civil discourse — the kind that allows disagreement without causing collateral damage.

Civil discourse came late for me. I learned to talk …