It's nearly impossible for me to hear a story on news radio that is not about a problem that is created by the monetary system and its engine of scarcity. People need help, that help is supplied through programs, but programs are under pressure because they never have enough money, which makes providing help so much more limited. So much money is spent on just getting more money that that money isn't used to actually provide the assistance needed. The assistance can be from environmental protection groups to education to disaster relief to lighthouses (which apparently no one wants to pay for with their own money).
Heading home Monday evening I heard this brief story about a woman who moved into a trailer park to escape an abusive situation. She didn't have the help of any welfare programs and she had not enough food to feed her children. She was desperate and demoralized. She broke down and finally asked her neighbor for help. They shared food that night, and that was the beginning of a co-op that emerged to support their whole community.
This story, while heart-breaking, was great in that it serves as a reminder that even though our system is set up to pit each one of us against each other in the battle for the sacred and scarce resource of money, that compassion and sharing can survive in spite of it. Imagine what could be accomplished if the system actively fostered these qualities?
http://thestory.org/archive/The_Story_010311_Full_Story.mp3/view
(the story I'm referring to appears at around minute 27)
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