Why do we need a reminder behind the bus seat to save one for the elderly and disabled? Should we not have these etiquettes ingrained in our minds? Are we so self-absorbed that we forget the feelings of others? Do we see people, or just look at them? I believe that we are here to make change even in small ways. Smile at a stranger. Donate to someone less fortunate than yourself. Look in the mirror and tell yourself you are enough. Money and power are frivolous. Pieces of paper, tiny bits of metal, bricks of gold. Whether it’s money, power, or both, we greedily hold fast to the idea that if we have enough money, we can build a platform toward power, and eventually happiness. Are we happier when we have more money or power over others?
Why do we feel more compassion for the dogs, which keep the homeless warm and protected, other than caring for the struggling people? We imagine that donations will be used to purchase booze or cigarettes, when maybe all we want is a steaming cheeseburger and fries. Many are starving and sleeping on the street, while others spend all day in coffee shops to avoid the cold. There are tent villages under bridges we drive past, ignoring terrible misfortune. Privileges are taken for granted, sometimes mistaken for rights. Some of us walk away without turning to see the people who cannot dream of shopping or spending the day with pockets full of money. Quite often, lack of a home is coupled with undiagnosed mental illness, and without the means to treat or heal trauma. These people deserve our help. They are humans and equal to us all. The system has failed.
We “own” land. We claim property because we can. Many are keeping money they will never live long enough to spend, handing it down for generations, and continuing the cycle of the misuse of money and power. Why do we need it? Why don’t we share it? Where are the Good Samaritans?
—SJB