From the Personal to the Political

In other posts I've written about betrayal. When one is faced with the reality of a serious illness, there's the most basic betrayal – that of one's own body. There's also the betrayal, whether conscious or not, by those close to us, who for whatever reason can't or don't step up to the plate in the way we need them to, at the time we need them the most. With this post, I'd like to open the discussion of another betrayal – the betrayal by one's government. The betrayal of my government. Sounds a bit harsh, maybe? Perhaps a bit overly dramatic? Because one could make the argument that there isn't a defined role for the government in matters that are considered "personal" matters. It's not the government's fault that I became ill. And one could argue that it isn't the government's responsibility to take care of me, or you, when illness, or joblessness, or old age strikes.

But it's not quite that cut and dry. We have already agreed that it is, at least to some extent, the responsibility of the collective when someone needs help. We've decided that it is the obligation of society to look after people who, for whatever reason, need the help of others. We have unemployment insurance, welfare, Medicaid, emergency rooms, shelters, schools, fire and police departments, and on and on. A big part of this is simply enlightened self-interest. It behooves us as a whole to have a well educated populace. And if your neighbor's house is on fire, there's a clear benefit to getting that fire put out before it reaches your house.

But I believe that just as important as our-self interest in these matters, is our human need to reach out and support our fellow travelers on this amazingly complex and wondrous journey that we are all on together. Because we are, at heart, ethical, moral and compassionate people.

Except when we aren't.

Except when we can find a way to justify turning our backs and not helping.

And I want to be clear about something. The word government isn't just a description of the men and women on Capitol Hill. The government is us and we are the government. Which means that we can't wiggle out of our personal responsibility in these matters. "People get the government they deserve." That leads me to the thought that it's prudent to think about what exactly it is that we deserve. What kind of people are we? What kind of people do we want to be? And while I am certainly happy, thrilled actually, that we have a new administration in place, I've been thinking that it's not time to sit back and bask in the glow. Because there is a lot of work yet to do and we've only taken the very first step.