This is a guest opinion column

Now that the Democrats are energized, we should be bold enough to wage another War on Poverty, as Lyndon Johnson did in the 1960s. The time was right then because President John F. Kennedy, before he was assassinated, had instilled in us a strong sense of patriotism.

We felt a calling to make America a special place for all of us. We would strive to do for our country instead of asking what it would do for us. When Vice President Johnson had to assume the presidency, he declared in his State of the Union address, “Our aim is not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it.”

Some 40 programs were established to improve living conditions and to provide economic opportunities for those who lived in poverty or faced a dismal future.

The time is also right today. Kamala Harris and her supporters are eager to reinvigorate our sense of nationalism. We can respond again to LBJ’s call for compassion and take steps to create a better country for many of our fellow citizens.

Alabama would benefit hugely. A new study ranks our state as one of the worst in the country in helping poor people. Andrea Tinker recently reported for Alabama Public Radio that we are 48th in the study gauging poverty support.

That means we do a dismal job providing public transportation, public schools, a decent minimum wage, housing, health care and other means of addressing the needs of our poor.

We can do better to help our fellow men, women and children struggling to overcome debilitating health issues such as maternal and infant mortality, hunger, substandard schools and just a dreadful life. Let’s capture the momentum of the moment.

Jean Lufkin Bouler is a former education reporter for The Birmingham News and author of The Most Perfect Justice: Alexander McGillivray and George Washington Strive to Save the Creek Nation.