My reflection after the 2010 State of the Union

First, let me say I was proud to have President Barack Obama give that speech last night. He was passionate and direct with congress--something I feel they need right now more than ever. What horrified me was the lack of response the conservatives showed when the President talked about helping the poor and middle class. There was no clapping or cheering from the right side of the chamber. Why?

I was watching First Contact last week with a few friends. In this Star Trek movie, the Enterprise is pulled back to the 21st century. They enter a time in earth history when the world has just been ravaged by a Nuclear war. Millions have been killed but hope is on the horizon. Scientist have developed the warp drive engine and are about to launch it which will in turn will propel earth into a new era filled with no poverty, war, and little crime. As Captain Picard explains to woman from the 21st century, this new era, this new earth, is no longer concerned with the betterment of one’s bank account but with the betterment of humanity. The economics of the 24th century, Picard’s time, no longer uses monetary assets but rather uses the needs of humanity, the needs of all people, to drive science, industry, and legislation.

Gene Roddenbury’s idea of a need-driven economy rather than a money driven economy is not far off from the economic ideas that Jesus, Paul, and many other theologians and saints have preached. The needs of the neighbor far outweigh the needs of the individual. That is the gospel. If Christ was concerned with himself, why did he die for us? Why are we left with stories such as the Good Samaritan or a Friend at Midnight? If all God wants us to be concerned is ourself, why did God create other individuals?

It makes me sick that a country, like Haiti, some hundred miles off our coast, could be so ravaged by a earth quake. This should not happened. America, the entire world for that matter, should have given them the technology to improve their infrastructure. I know a earth quake of that magnitude would have rocked even a major city such as LA, but maybe we could have prevented some of the deaths if only we would have shared our resources. Why must we always be concerned with making a buck? When are we going to realize that human life, a priceless gift and a blessing, is far more important than making a buck? When are we going to realize that we are no different from the people of Haiti? We are all just one disaster away from losing it all. We are no different from the people of Haiti or anyone other country from around the world. I don’t care who you are, nobody can faithfully say that if a major disaster occured, whether it be natural, health, or familial, we would be able to recover immediately or even within 6 months. How many of you could survive one or two years without a paycheck? Anyone?

What we must remember is the commonality that connects us all together is that we are people. The American PEOPLE, Haitian PEOPLE, Turkish PEOPLE. We all share that common trait that we are people. We all breath and have heart beat. We all want to live and have a chance at living better. We all desire and deserve life rather than death and when we desire death, we hopefully have those who desire life close as a reminder to why life is always more desirable than death.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” We all have the right to life. The emphasis here is on life. We all have the right to life. A long life. A life where we pursue liberty over tyranny and happiness over deceit. These rights are not just for Americans but to everyone. All men and women, of any race or nationality, has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is time that we wake up and realize this world is not very large and we are all one PEOPLE. This is not something we obtain overnight. It first must start with us looking to our neighbor and fighting for them. We must stand up and demand that everyone be taken care of and pass this same dream onto the world. Our goals must be that of the world and the goals of the world must ours as well. We must share our technology and our wealth in hopes that one day no child and no adult will ever have to choose medication over food, food over shelter, life over death. But for this dream to become a reality, we first must start with looking to where we draw the line for the outcasts. Remember, Christ is always on the other side of the line. Christ is always with the outcasts.