Share with your brothers and sisters

Sharing

As children we were taught by our parents and teachers to share. “Share with your brother”, I was told, and I have heard hundreds of parents utter that or similar admonishments through the years. So, at what point do we stop practicing this important lesson? Perhaps the answer is that we never really learn the lesson. Or, perhaps we do not have role models in our lives to show us the way. Our elders could have been better at sharing.

This global economic crisis reminds me that human beings can be downright cruel in their greediness. Corporate CEO’s who make enough to live comfortably for a hundred lifetimes cry poverty while traveling in private jets. A flight attendant who had the temerity to suggest that it was unfair for her and her colleagues to accept a 40% wage cut while upper management received big bonuses is ridiculed by the very same managers. When President-elect Obama suggested that we “spread the wealth” he is branded a socialist. Well folks, he is in good company there, because that fellow with the initials J.C. was a socialist if there ever was one. He knew how to share!

How much do you need? What can you do with $500,000 a year that you can’t do with $250,000 a year? I have always been baffled by the sense of entitlement that so many people have. Why don’t you want that neighbor who has worked hard all her life but is down on her luck to have a chance at getting back on her feet? Oh, I’ve heard all the arguments, especially “people are lazy” or “they choose to be homeless.” The fact is that the vast majority of people want to work; they want to contribute to society, and have a chance at a better life. Another one that particularly grates on me is “they can pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.” Well, no one who has ever accomplished anything in this world did it without some sort of help along the way.

So it comes down to what I call “forced sharing” or what is commonly known as taxation. One way or another, these problems will need to be solved through taxation, or a forced sharing of the wealth. The question becomes who should bear the burden? Right now, the very people who are suffering the most are bearing that burden. Who has the courage to change this?

What kind of a society do we want? I want my neighbor to have a job that pays well enough so that they don’t have to work a second job, with the opportunity to improve themselves through higher education. I want my neighbor to have access to preventative health care, because if they are sick I could become sick too. If your neighbor who is out of work had a job, he could be your customer. Some among us will remember that it was not so long ago that families could live on one income and never worried about losing their home because of hospital bills. We could have that kind of world again, if we share.

We are all one big family. If we are going to get through this crisis, we will have to learn to share. Share our abundance, and share our hearts. Our lives WILL change, there is no denying it. Almost everyone I know is doing pretty well, even in these tough times. We must all do the little things that will make a difference for someone who is hurting or just trying to stay afloat. When you go out to dinner, tip your server well. Volunteer at a soup kitchen or shelter. Take some food to your neighbor who is out of work. Forgo that extra coffee or trinket and put the money in a collection plate or donate to charity. Use one of those hours you might spend on the couch to do something for someone else. It just might be you that needs it someday.

Perhaps it’s a hopeless cliché, but it bears repeating. “Live simply so others may simply live.” Share with your brothers and sisters. It feels so good.