* There are some advantages to walking barefoot, which we in developed countries have lost. For example, running barefoot stresses the bones of the feet by only a third as much as running in running shoes.

* For a person used to wearing shoes, walking barefoot is nothing like what it is for a person who is typically barefoot. Our baby-soft soles are simply not conditioned for that.

* I understand the symbolism of literally walking in someone else’s shoes (or absence of shoes). But we shouldn’t think it’s really the same thing. (This is akin to educated, clear-thinking, goal-oriented, substance-free college students trying to experience real homelessness by sleeping in a box in the school’s parking lot.)

* We’re supposed to be all about cultural sensitivities these days. To some extent, claiming that wearing shoes for most of the day is the “correct” behavior smacks of a western cultural bias.

* In a deeply poor society, the first commercial enterprise that usually emerges is agriculture. The next is clothing. Donating clothing to poor cultures is straight out of the beatitudes, but caution is imperative.

Charity is led by the heart, and is best when the mind is involved as well.