We're Knee Deep in Needy

‘United we stand.’  What does that mean?

How about, ‘Divided we fall?’

On their own the statements are fairly clear but together they are quite compelling.

The more people who unite in a common cause the better the chance for a favorable outcome.  And conversely if we all go off in different directions then we stand a better than 50-50 chance of failing.

Naturally there are exceptions to every rule but as Spock once said, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.”

But an alarming number of people in this country say they hate those Vulcan words and want to reverse their meaning.

In order to further their small group’s needs they subvert the truth in favor of some skewed view of life, not as we know it but as they’d like it to be.  They change history by omitting items not favorable to their cause and inserting falsities as facts.

One may assume that one or two revisions down the road and Texas’ school books will list President Bush and his evil companion as heads of the best administration the country ever had.

In this ever increasingly complex world what we need is more education and not less.  And in keeping with the old adage that familiarity breeds contempt we seem to have forgotten many truths.

For example, in order for the United States to have armed forces (this includes the army, navy etc.) we all must chip in.  The question of how much should be spent on said forces may rage on but the fact that we need them is not up for debate.  We, as in EVERYONE pay for our nation’s security out of our tax dollars!

When it comes to a police force or the firemen or education or our fantastic system of National Highways the funding also comes from our tax dollars.

Another old adage states that you are okay, "As long as you have your health."

But somewhere along the path to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness we seem to have removed health from the equation and replaced it with corporate greed.

They say that money can't buy happiness, and four kids from Liverpool once told us that it can't buy me love but it sure comes in handy when you are sick.

The strange fact is that when a poor person gets sick and cannot pay for health care he or she may wind up in a hospital emergency room.  All the costs involved in taking care of that person will be absorbed by the facility and figured into their operating expenses.

These operating expenses are then totaled and divided among those of us who can afford to pay for the service.  This is only fair since the hospital could and would go out of business otherwise.

So in a very real sense our costs would be lower if that poor person was covered by insurance, or better yet had a job that offered coverage.

But at this very moment in our country jobs are not that easy to come by and the “haves” are not willing to share a farthing with the “have nots.”

This is not how our country was founded.  And it goes against the “U” in our country’s name!

Frank Capra’s movies are considered hokey and tremendously idealistic but once in a while we should remember Jimmy Stewarts’ line from “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

He was holding off the mass hysteria that caused the run on the bank.  His customers were crowded into the Bailey Savings and Loan demanding their money and he saved the day by reminding them that, “You’re thinking of this place all wrong…  Your money’s in Joe’s house…right next to yours…And in Kennedy’s house… and a hundred others.  Now what are you going to do, foreclose on them?”

One of these days we all could find ourselves in a bad place.  One of these days something unforeseen could sneak up and bite us on our rear ends and threaten our cozy comfort.  Suddenly we are the ones being transported through the swinging doors of the emergency room.


Now what are you going to do?

The idea is a simple one that we seem to have lost sight of but it can be found in the first three words at the top of this article!