My blogging friend PeNdantry, of Wibble fame, published a very short post a few days ago that led to a chain of thoughts, introspections, and ultimately this post.  But first … PeNdantry’s post …

Inextricable by PeNdantry

Indeed, my friends, we ARE all linked in one way or another.  Certainly our first concerns are those with whom we have a special bond – family, friends, neighbors and co-workers.  But beyond that … are ‘Americans’ really more special than, say, Ugandans?  No … we are all humans with the exact same needs and basically the same weaknesses and strengths.  A hundred or more years ago, one could be forgiven for failing to understand that, but in today’s world where technology has shrunken the world, it is inexcusable.  What we do has ramifications around the globe in ways that were not even thought of 100 years ago.

The ’America First’ policy that we first heard about under the former administration was garbage.  There is no reason to believe that the people of any one nation are in any way superior to those of another nation.  I know you’re all tired of hearing me say that Black or white, straight or gay, religious or atheist, it does not matter … but I’m gonna keep saying it because far too many people still aren’t getting the message!

Recently I heard the argument that we should stop sending aid to Ukraine because “there are people going hungry here in the U.S.”  Right, well then … let’s make the wealthy people pay their fair share of taxes and legislate laws to help feed the hungry, provide medical care for those who need it, etc., and meanwhile we can continue to help Ukraine fend off the brutal attacks by an egomaniacal dictator.  But no … the very people griping about sending aid to Ukraine support tax cuts for the wealthy and scream at the tops of their lungs about helping the poor!  Hypocrisy at its finest.

In the past two days, since the successful prisoner swap that brought basketball player Brittney Griner home, people have been up in arms that she was released and not Paul Whelan.  The negotiations for the two were entirely different, and the U.S. did not have the resources Putin required to free Paul Whelan.  Negotiations continue, and hopefully he, too, will soon be on his way home, but why the hell are people so angry that Ms. Griner was freed?  Oh yeah … she’s Black, while Whelan is white.  She’s a woman, where Whelan is a man.  And she’s gay, while Whelan is straight.  Three strikes against her in the eyes of the bigots. 

While America worships its top 1% of wealthy people, panders to the wealthy corporations, and chooses to ignore much of the rest of the world, nature is struggling to survive.  The environmental issues take a back seat to most everything else.  After the massive Keystone Pipeline leak three days ago, the top news was the World’s Cup soccer tournaments and Kyrsten Sinema leaving the Democratic Party. The only two places I found news of the pipeline spill were the UK’s The Guardian and the Associated Press (AP). Someday, probably sooner than later, the environment that everyone is putting on the back burner will become the great equalizer.  Those with billions of dollars will not be any better off than those of us who live payday to payday.  The petty politics of the day will not only take a backseat, but will likely be meaningless drivel. 

Stop for a minute today.  Look at the people you see.  Are they really any different than you?  There are now over 8 billion people on Planet Earth … each and every one matters, not just the white ones, and not just the American ones, not just the straight ones and not just the male ones … ALL OF THEM MATTER!