A More Perfect Union

Endless reading in the paper and a growing hearing from people tales of economic and social distress it is clear we are in for a long mean spirited haul.  

Our civil leadership, at all levels, seems to be locked into politics and one up-man-ship and not doing what it was chosen to do - govern.  It seems to be a time of rhetoric and not ideas, about self-interest and not the common good.   Two quotes come to mind when I think about this broken big picture.

 “You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourself in the land of Egypt.  You shall not wrong the widow or the orphan.  If ever you wrong them they will cry out to me, I will surly hear their cry” Ex 22: 20-233

“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, and provide for the common defense. Promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity”    Preamble to the US Constitution.

Clearly we are meant to build up the family of man and to reach out and support those in need and not   tear down or burden.  We are not to oppress and beat down the marginal and voiceless, just because we can or because it the safest way not to lose votes. 

 We all are leaders and the lead, and we must look to build ”more perfect union” that “promotes the general welfare”.  This is why we have government - to govern not politic.  Politics is a luxury of better times.

Greed of treasure and greed of power is a sin that we all fall into at some level or another, but to elevate the sin of greed (in all its forms) to an art is a not only a sin against God, but a crime against humanity.

It seems that the debate is not about how we can better serve all the people we are entrusted, by God and the Constitution, to serve, but how to cling to power or get power both nationally and globally.

Sure we have hard choices to make, but perhaps we should choose teachers and nurses rather than armies (Peace Corps did more good than an armor division).  Perhaps, choosing the common good of all rather the good of the powerful is the better way to look at the picture.