A perspective on the healthcare battle

“The most alarming rhetoric comes out of the dispute between the liberals and conservatives, and it’s a dangerous waste of time because they’re both right. The perennial conservative concern about high taxes supporting a nonworking “underclass” has entirely legitimate roots in our evolutionary past and shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand. Early hominids lived a precarious existence where freeloaders were a direct threat to survival, and so they developed an exceedingly acute sense of whether they were being taken advantage of by members of their own group. But by the same token, one of the hallmarks of early human society was the emergence of a culture of compassion that cared for the ill, the elderly, the wounded, and the unlucky. In today’s terms, that is a common liberal concern that also has to be taken into account. Those two driving forces have coexisted for hundreds of thousands of years in human society and have been duly codified in this country as a two-party political system. The eternal argument over so-called entitlement programs-and, more broadly, over liberal and conservative thought-will never be resolved because each side represents an ancient and absolutely essential component for our evolutionary past.” -Tribe, by Sebastian Junger.

Does author Sebastian Junger make a valid argument?  What does Love ultimately ask of us?   What is the greatest common good?  If this argument is true, how is it that countries in Europe have managed to create a fundamentally socialist system that cares for its people from cradle to grave?  I also wonder if Calvinism with its false “God rewards the righteous with prosperity” theology is at play in this country as well.

The Grand Canyon

Last month my mother and I took an incredible road trip to visit National Parks in the western United States. One of our destinations was the Grand Canyon. I’ve flown over it many times but had never been at ground level so during our trip, we visited the South Rim. The Grand Canyon is so huge it’s beyond words and I felt such awe and wonder. Mom had been there before so she was content to hang out and let me explore and hike. So I did. I enjoyed the ever changing vista (I took lots of pictures), I watched other tourists take selfies that were often too close to the edge, triggering my discomfort with long vertical drops, and found the Trail of Time fascinating with its collection of rocks from the various layers of the canyon, rocks that are millions and millions of years old. But for all the awe and wonder I felt, I noticed that I was also dissatisfied, a dissatisfaction I didn’t experience at other National Parks. I talked to a friend who’s been there a number of times and he knew exactly how I felt. He said that at the rim, you are still removed from the canyon and your experience is superficial. It is only when you descend into the depths of the Grand Canyon that you begin to truly experience it and know it in a way that is not possible from the rim. As I thought about his words, I also thought about Unitarian Universalism. It is certainly possible to spend one’s life engaged with our tradition in a superficial way, standing on the rim. But it is only when we go deep into the faith, engaging with others, learning about our long and incredible history, being active in our shared life and work, and discovering how to live our values out more fully, that we truly experience it and know it in ways that may lead to us feeling that our lives are richer, more fulfilling and our spirits stronger and more connected with the wonder and mystery of life itself.  As our transition time comes to an end early this fall and we begin a new chapter in our new facility, are you ready to descend more deeply into the depths of Unitarian Universalism and the heart of Life itself?