It's a national disgrace. The homeless don't vote, they have no lobby or friends in Congress. So they're ignored.

America has a deep and historic character fault: we believe in our hearts that it's every man for himself, and that if a guy is homeless, or an alcoholic, or a crack addict, or obese, that's because of the choices he's made- a lifestyle choice, and that it's up to him, goddammit, to get his act together. Hard to imagine anyone waking up one morning and 'deciding' that a good career path is becoming a homeless, toothless, meth addict.

Combine that with the fact that there are so many Americans on the streets now (including vets) that most Americans have tuned their presence out. They're seen but not really seen, if you know what I mean.

To really see them, to even speak to them, is to acknowledge what we've allowed ourselves to become as a nation. That is a very disturbing prospect for many Americans, so we tolerate them sleeping on the sidewalk, begging at the end of every freeway off-ramp and outside our local Whole Foods store.

And when we get home at the end of our own busy day we turn our attention to making dinner, watching television, and we forget that we're all living in a house of cards.