Tuesday, November 4, 2008

The Common Good

Vincent Miller, in an article in the National Catholic Reporter, speaks of our country's loss of the humane and essential ideal of the "common good." Below is a short excerpt from his article.


"Our instincts for the common good have been dulled by an economic system that reduces us all to individuals. Gone are mutual aid societies, local credit unions, and even company pensions. We’re all on our own now, masters of shrinking 401k accounts. We turn to credit cards in rough times rather than sharing with family and neighbors. Standing alone with our [desire for] tax cuts, we are all going down the tubes together."*

*Vincent Miller. "Catholic 'common good' notions embedded in Obama politics." www.ncronline.com. Nov. 1, 2008.

1 comment:

Rick in Powell said...

What a powerful and timely thought.

As a kid growing up we did very well with very little, everyone pitched in for the common good.

My folks raised 4 of us, and we all made it through high school, 3 of us have college degrees, thanks to the "neighborhood". The financial part took hind seat to the expectations, and the finances took care of themselves.

The neighborhood is gone, my kids are on their own, we struggle to keep in touch, much less help them as a greater whole.

I am not enthused by Obama's politics, but I pray that it works.

Our fabric is frayed, maybe because of our generation, and we need to get back to the needlework.