The Nation

I do not want to see an America that disregards the plight of those who are most vulnerable, whether they are poor or uneducated, homeless or elderly.  The short term, exorbitant profit of the wealthy is not a higher value for me than their well-being.

I do not want to see an America that disregards our health and life through the de-regulation of businesses so that they may pollute and destroy our air, water and ground in order to make more profits for a few.   The quality of the food we eat should not be compromised for the profit of a few because agencies designed to keep us safe have been cut.   The health of our children and all people is at stake, and I have a higher value for them than for the profit of a few.

I do not want to see an America that exploits people overseas for profit.  Our corporations go to places where they can pay very little for labor and pollute the environments, waste the resources and destroy the landscapes of other nations for the profit of a few from our land.  We invade nations that are oil rich on false pretenses, rather than develop alternative sources of energy.  The opulence of a few is NOT a higher value for me than the integrity of our nation.

I do not want to see an America that runs schools for profit, so that teachers will go to the highest bidder in order to make a living, and schools that cannot make it are shut down in rural and urban areas, thereby providing child labor for the robber barons who de-regulate labor practices.  I have a higher value for the education of our children than for the greater wealth of the already wealthy.

I do not want to see an America that runs prisons for profit, so that in order to make more profit there must be more prisoners, and they are hired out for $2 an hour to farms and industries, furthering the for-profit system, thereby creating a new slavery in America, particularly because arrests are targeted more highly in urban, poor neighborhoods where people of color are more likely to live.  I value true justice in a justice system, over the injustices perpetrated by a few for more profit on the backs of others.

I do not want to see an America that has 90% of the wealth in 5% of the population, and any government representation for their benefit only.  I do not want to see the 95% of the population pay 100% of the taxes off of 10% of the wealth they possess, while the 5% pay 0% from the 90% of the wealth they hold.  I value the well-being of ALL people too much to see them be owned by companies for the profits of a few.

I do not want to see an America that has sick and elderly dying in the streets, because there was no profit for the few in giving them medical care.  I do not want to see an America in which disparities in education, employment, housing, safety and healthcare are so great that an even playing field even for survival is a distant fantasy.  I do not want to see an America in which the mean-spirited, greedy, ruthless, intolerant and self-centered run rough-shod over the rest of the population.  I value the well-being of all people, over the obscene practices for more profit by a few.

I do not want to see that America.  I see it on the horizon and it scares me.  I see it incrementally being implemented in policies that have been pushed for for 31 years.  I see it being embraced by those who have the wealth and power and by those who believe they may be among them someday if they "tow the line".  I see it in the de-regulation of industry and in the dismantling of government safeguards.  I see it in the legislation of the bedrooms of Americans, and in the disenfranchisement of ANYONE not like the majority of power and wealth who hold sway.  I see it.  I saddens me.  I value lifting up all, rather than just a few, and NOT tearing many down so that a few can stand on their shoulders... I value the morality of community values over the immorality of greed.

I will pray.  I will speak.  I will write.  I will demand.  I will demonstrate.  I will challenge.  I will vote.

What will you do?  What America do YOU want to see?  I will share my vision for the America I DO want to see on my next blog.

Pastor Jamie