COMPASSION: Care for all could be key

Perhaps when a society can find its contentment in the well-being of the least among its population, we could consider it enlightened. Sadly, today in our own country, there are some who take pleasure in the oppression of the least among us. This is an age-old tactic, used throughout history by those with wealth and power. They divide people, pitting those on the lower rungs of society against each other, so that one group feels better about itself because it doesn’t have it as bad as others. In fact, they seem to even take satisfaction in the level of oppression placed on the backs of the least among us.

It seems that for some, it doesn’t matter that immigrants have a lower crime rate than those born in America. It also doesn’t seem to matter that many jobs filled by immigrants are not readily taken by Americans. Furthermore, it seems not to matter that immigrants contribute to our system by paying taxes and yet do not receive all the benefits enjoyed by Americans. The only thing that seems to matter to some is that someone else has it worse than they do.

Meanwhile, the wealthy and powerful seize more of the common good that we all contribute to. The foundations of their empires are built on the backs of the poor. Things could be so much different if we could find some of our satisfaction in the well-being of the least among us.

ERNEST WARNER

Coeur d’Alene