July, 2013
MINE OR YOURS
Before the age of five each of us was likely told (and probably more than once) that good and harmonious behavior requires rules:
Take nothing from someone else without permission.
Share what you have with others.
Frolicking in the sandbox demands etiquette.
To these instructions many if not all of us no doubt exclaimed:
To the rule first suggested: “What if she says, ‘No.’ ?”
And to the second: “Do I have to?”
The dynamics of desire and of selfishness show up early in our lives. Our parents and others interested in our development have commendable goals in mind. Consideration of others and cooperation with them often takes us closer to what we want than grabbing and refusing.
We all know that there are some children who have more toys than they may ever be able to find while there are other children who have no toys at all.
But what about us grownups? How far have we progressed from the sandbox of yesterday? If we are honest, we must admit that there are vast differences between us in the world of mine and of yours. Unequal distribution of goods and services is evident across the world, throughout our nations, and between the members of our own families.
Even at this late date in history there are still among us a few who get some of what they want through acts of barter - exchanging their own goods or services for the goods and services of others without the use of money. A typical example might be a young person getting a free room in an elderly person’s home in exchange for performing household chores and going shopping. However, for most money is the only possible exchange for the goods and services that may be desired or needed to support life.
The getting of, holding, and use of money are the critical and central acts necessary to provide for each person’s existence. Given this modern need for money to live, any society wanting justice for all must provide each individual with the opportunity to get the cash needed to pay for the cost of living.
Do we want a just society in the United States of America?
Some may have cause to wonder when considering the employment reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics in May, 2013:
11 million 760 thousand workers were unemployed and looking for work.
4 million 357 thousand of those had been unemployed for more than 26 weeks.
7 million 904 thousand were working part-time but wanted full time work.
Essentially, about 1 out of every 8 American workers was either unemployed or employed part-time though wanting full-time work.
In other words, the opportunity to work full-time to meet their cost of living was denied to 12.5% of the active American work force in May, 2013.
Ask yourself: What needs to change?
Must there be an employer of last resort in our country?
If so, who is available?
If not, must the willing but unhired starve?
And justice . . .
. . . what of justice?
