We all do better when we all do better is not a redundant statement. It’s a saying I used to hear from the late Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone. Senator Wellstone was a champion of the working and middle class.
In 2002 Paul Wellstone, his wife Sheila, and daughter Marcia, along with the pilot died, in a plane crash on their way to a campaign rally in Eveleth, MN. Outside of Minnesota, Paul may not be a household name, but here he was known for being a feisty advocate for those being left out in a country as successful and rich as the United States. He is also one of the few Senators who voted against the Iraq war. Good call.
We all do better when we all do better is considered a “lefty liberal”, “socialist” idea. But is it really that liberal? Maybe, but this more of a pragmatic statement than one would think.
There has been a growing income gap between the richest Americans and the poorest. As that gap gets wider, more people are struggling to feed their families, provide housing, and afford healthcare.
Does it matter that some people are succeeding when there is a growing group of people who are not? If you are succeeding in meeting your needs and the needs of your loved ones, it may not matter to you. If you are struggling it matters a lot.
For those of us that are doing well in this economy (myself included) there is a temptation to overlook people struggling around us. They live next to us, around the corner, and in our towns.
The concern is that those at the bottom of the economic ladder are going to push back through protests, boycotts, and ultimately violence. In recent days we have seen how millions of people have protested the presidential election results. Except for the city of Portland, most of these protests (thankfully) have been peaceful. But if people continue to feel marginalized, discriminated against, and not included in this economy my fear is that violence will break out at increasing rates.
We have seen this same dynamic in countries around the world where masses of citizens have risen up against their governments and changed the political structures. Think Egypt. In other situations the disaffected have resorted to armed conflict and violence. Think Syria and Palestine.
It’s easy to distance ourselves from the conflicts around the world and to believe that because we are Americans that can’t happen here. That’s delusional thinking. If people live too long with hardship and a lack of hope, anything can happen.
If we are not all doing well, we are not all doing well.
But…
If we all have jobs that pay a living wage, we all do better.
If we all have access to affordable health care, we all do better.
If we all have affordable, decent places to live, we all do better.
If we all have quality education, we all do better.
If we all live without discrimination, we all do better.
If we are all able to pursue our religion with freedom, we all do better.
If we live in an environment that is clean and healthy, we all do better.
Even if you care only about yourself, you will do better if the rest of us are succeeding. We’ll be happier and less likely to cause you problems.
If believing that we all do better when we all do better makes me a left leaning liberal, then so be it. But liberal, conservative, or somewhere in the middle I think we all have an intuitive sense that this is true.
My call to action for you is to engage in small ways (and some large) to make our world a better place for us all.
My call to action to our elected leaders is to work on behalf of all American and bring just and fair laws that benefit us all. If you don’t, you’ll be hearing from a lot us. Because…
We all do better, when we all do better.