BY SHARON MARTIN
The biggest threat we face in this world today is the one that pits us against them. It doesn’t matter who the thems are.
You believe your God is the only God. Your way is the only way. Your skin color, gender, or sexual orientation is superior. Your children are the only ones who deserve the best of everything. Stop.
There are those in this country who promote daily us/them battles. It’s good for business. Goading others to fight your wars is an act of evil. War is an evil. No more war. We all belong on this planet and there are enough resources for everyone.
One in four children in Oklahoma, about a quarter million kids under the age of 18, are food insecure. You who have well-nourished children in your household may believe this has nothing to do with you. Perhaps it’s their parents’ fault. We can’t go enabling deadbeat parents, can we?
Who cares whose fault it is when a child is hungry. Feed the child. Sort out the reasons later and try to come up with solutions so it doesn’t happen again. But first, feed the child.
To let children go hungry as a form of political stance shows a lack of conscience.
To fund some schools well because parents in the district pay more property taxes is not only morally wrong, it is misguided. To believe that it is justifiable to educate some children and let others take their chances does not make this a better world.
Neither does parsing out health care. What kind of world do you want to leave for your lucky offspring, one that is secure and equitable or one that is fraught with social tensions?
Whose God wins? When religious foes fight, no one wins. War, actual or psychological, steals resources, souls, and lives.
Was there ever a time when clan cooperation wasn’t safer than war between clans? Is it really about survival of the strongest organism? What about the strongest mind? What about the strength of all of us together?
We don’t need to worry about immigrants. It’s likely your ancestors were immigrants once. They come, build lives, buy homes and stuff for their homes. They pay taxes and give back, regardless of what you’ve heard.
Don’t worry about trade agreements. You have it in your hands to buy local. Let’s pay living wages so local workers can afford to buy local.
Buy across borders or natural barriers those things we don’t make or grow at home. Make and grow more stuff at home. Demand fair laws. Realize that workers and owners need each other. We all need each other.
Cooperation, not war, is what will make us stronger and safer.
– Sharon Martin lives in Oilton, OK and is a regular contributor to The Oklahoma Observer
