For many years I used to joke that I got along with children, teens, young adults and the elderly but it was the rest in between that I had a problem with. Now that I am 70 I find myself with more friends my age, in general 60–80. I still get along with young children but do not have much contact with teens and young adults but I think I am okay with them. Also my friends seem to range from working persons to low income and often have health issues, less wealthy and healthy. All this leads to 30 −60 age group middle class and up that I have a problem with at times.
It is the generation after the baby boomers whatever that is labeled. I would call it the ‘relative’ generation where everything goes as long as you do not hurt someone and there are only personal opinions not “opinions of truth.” Everything is relative and the common good is not as pressing an issue as the individual good.
I heard a couple of good speakers today. My friend from India, Prasad, gave a talk at Cardinal Stricth University where he said what is good for us is part of the common good. After an elderly moral theologian gave a talk at lunch today he told us that when the Jews were called out of Egypty they were called to be a sharing persons. He also talked about an important book Journey to the Common Good by Walter Brueggemann. According to a description the author “calls us to journey together to the common good through neighborliness, covenanting, and reconstruction.”
Today the House of Representatives with a Republican majority voted for a new State Budget for the next two years that has drastic cuts for education, health care for low income, transit and in many areas that affect the “common good.” Yet the budget calls for 650 million of tax cuts for upper middle class and wealth persons. I joked with a low income friend that the Governor is taking money from him to give to me. But it is no joke. If you took the age of these representatives you probably would find that, like our Governor, they are between 30 and 60 years old.
What can we young, old, marginalized and ill do about it? It is probably not much but if we join together and work together with some in this group who understand the importance of ‘common good’ we can overcome. But those in power keep us divided and working against each other, being on the defense never on offensive.
There is a comprehensive Immigration Bill pending in US Senate. I do not know much about the bill yet but know there is truly hurtful to common good and some would say ‘evil’ things in the bill like militarizing the border with drones and hundreds of thousands security keep the immigrant. Friends admit that there is some really bad provisions in the bill but urge me and others to support it. My response is that I understand compromise and know it is necessary. However, when we vote for the ‘lesser of two evils’ we lose more and more ground in our struggle for common good. I do not think the “end justifies the means” and voting for bill to militarize our border, just like voting for war spending because some good thing is added to it, is wrong.
The Common God is losing group to the individualism of our times. However, the Common Good will outlive this era self and the relativity of everything and rise again.
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