What happened to the common good?

Do you remember the days when most people seemed to understand the common good? And have you noticed that this concept now seems foreign to many people?

Examples of the common good are things such as the road system, public parks, police protection and public safety, water and air quality, public transportation, schools, courts, and the judicial system. It used to be that as members of society, we would support what we saw as being for the common good even if it didn’t serve our individual interests directly.

For example, I don’t have children but I pay for the public school system that educates other people’s children. The schools don’t directly serve my interests. I could argue I shouldn’t have to pay into the system. However, educating children is for the common good and I support this. Whether or not we have children, we have to live with them once they grow up and become members of society. It is in the interest of all of us - the common good - that children be well-educated so they can become contributing members of society.

Today, we see people arguing over many issues that serve the common good. It is for the common good that we have clean air and water. It is for the common good that we not spread disease or illness. It is for the common good that our elections be free and clear of outside interference. For many people, though, their personal interests and comfort now take precedence over what is good for everyone.

As I suspect you do, I take issue with this newest renewed interest in banning books and cutting some topics children are taught in school. Every time I hear a politician say they’re doing what the parents want, I ask, “What parents?” The only parents who seem to be pandered to are the far right, conservative, white Christian ones. It seems that the other parents and the rest of society don’t matter. What about the parents who want their children to have a well-rounded education, parents who are willing to be involved in their children’s education and are willing to discuss topics at home with their children. If one’s child is being taught ideas the parents object to, they talk to the child at home and explain the parent’s position. As children grow up, it is then their personal duty to think through the concepts they were taught and decide which are ones they will keep and which they will toss.

We Americans have always been an independent lot and don’t like being told what to do. How do we resurrect the concept of having policies that serve the common good and not just a small part of society? For those of us in the spiritual community, is this something to ignore or something we need to pay attention to? I think we spiritual types have been too quiet for too long and I think we have contributed to the issues we’re facing right now. Pretending issues don’t exist or thinking we’re too evolved to get involved are not the right positions to take.

We have a responsibility to act, to care, to speak up, in whatever way works for us. We don’t have to get down in the mud in order to point out that the mud puddle is there. We don’t have to get down in the mud to help find ways to walk around the puddle or to remove it all together. You know what you need to do to bring us back around to caring about the common good. You just have to get quiet, know what it is, and then have the courage to do it. So do I. Let’s get going, shall we?

Living in grace and ease,

Krysta