Member-only story
The other day, I came across this Facebook picture.
I was immediately enraged, not because someone was calling for help for veterans. I frequently have fought for better care for veterans and have a long line of family members who have fought in almost every major war all the way down to the American Revolution. No, I was mad because people were saying we need to help one group of humans instead of another.
Instead? Por que no los dos?
Why not help veterans AND immigrants? Who said there’s a limited supply of human kindness? Then I realized it’s not just this that people argue about. The world runs on pitting groups against each other, convincing humans we can only help one group at a time. Humans have been programmed to be more competitive than compassionate, and that is not something I am okay with.
Let’s make a list over the past few years of things we have been convinced we have to choose between:
- Having guns vs. having safe schools
- Taking care of our veterans vs. taking care of refugees and immigrants
- Having universal basic income vs. a thriving job market
- Helping reform drug addicts and distributors vs. eradicating drugs
- Being pro life vs. pro choice
