August 25b

With palms together,

Good Morning Everyone,



This morning I was reading the news and found myself mystified once again at my countryman. Self interest and “blame the other guy” are our apparent focus and mantra, respectively. We don’t want taxes, but we want better roads, warplanes, bombs, rockets, and ships. We don’t want (and are increasingly suspicious of) scientific research, but we want the best medical care in the world. We want somebody else to pay for everything, but we want to determine what they will be able to pay for and where their money will come from, or where it won’t.



Stem cell research is essential to medical research. The choice of abortion is essential to the health and well-being of women. Health insurance is essential to the health of the nation. Roads and bridges are essential to the flow of commerce, to say nothing of the safety of people. Safety nets like unemployment insurance, Medicaid, and Medicare are essential to caring for those who are otherwise unable to care for themselves and by maintaining such programs, we build our character as charitable and generous human beings.



Yet, the view I read is a view that would take away these supports and throw us into a state of anarchy. We don’t trust government, so let’s make it smaller. And this means what, that we should trust industry? Do you really think an industry will monitor itself at the expense of its short term bottom line? Do you really think that private health insurance which profits from controlling utilization will make us healthier? Like the automobile industry would have somehow saw the light and made safer and more fuel efficient cars without the government forcing them to do so! Right.



Those of you on the Tea Party side of this equation might take a lesson from such things. Cigarette companies taught you cigarettes were safe and that it was bad science that said otherwise. Car companies claimed they could not afford airbags, seatbelts, and more fuel efficient engines. It was government, that big, bad ogre which took these industries to task and as a result, we have safer air and more fuel efficient and somewhat safer cars.



Those of you on the side of government take note as well. Government fueled by fear with unbridled controls means great threat to your privacy and freedom. The CIA has been working closely with the NYC Police Department to spy on citizens even outside of New York, infiltrated bookstores, scans computers, and does any number of undercover ops here in the US without benefit of oversight from anyone. Of course this is OK because they were only spying on Muslims and we know they are all terrorists, right? Wrong.



Something the Buddha taught can be of great value today: the middle way. Stay away from extremes on the right or left. Extremes in anything, including religion, are not a good idea and eventually lead to great suffering.



Just something to think about as we read the morning news.