In 2008, our Weeping Cherry tree was under attack. A thunderstorm blew it almost to the ground and split the trunk out of spite, I suppose. I propped the tree for over two years and treated it to stop the insects crawling on the cracked trunk. After that, it was able to grow – little by little. Now, 17 summers later, the tree has full foliage, and its trunk, although scarred, is stable. Last summer, it even survived a storm that totally uprooted a larger neighboring tree.
Like the parable of the fig tree, sometimes we need extra care to survive and flourish. Just as no one hopes to be blasted by storms, no one wants to depend on others for help. But adversity comes, and without a little help, any person, like any tree, could lose everything. Providing help often makes the difference between life and death. And any of us could end up like our tree: knocked down, but hoping to rise again
One political point-of-view claims that government must not provide help, or at least not much help, because people will become “dependent.” Some do, to be sure. But it seems to me most people are like our Weeping Cherry tree and only need help for a season or two. Some politicians oppose “big government” because it’s an invitation to spend too much or do too much for people who need to learn how to take care of themselves. [Insert some palaver about bootstraps here.]
But when the winds of hardship blow, where else can many people turn? Not corporations. These are concerned with shareholder value, not the public good. However, in bygone days, some took care of their employees. And some still do. Viking Cruises spent a fortune paying their employees during COVID-19, and after that, suffice it to say the CEO is no longer one of the richest men in the world.
I don’t want to get started on wage stagnation, mass layoffs, offshoring, or the fact that many companies expect tax breaks while paying employees so little that they need SNAP or Medicaid benefits to survive.
Some want the government to police people’s private lives but want to stop the government from helping when people are too old, too young, too sick, or otherwise unable to live without help. Sometimes we hear, “the Lord helps those who help themselves.” This expression is not in the Bible, but sadly it’s been used to justify the rich “helping themselves” to a bigger piece of pie at the expense of the poor.
There is a passage in Matthew, Chapter 5, called, “The Sermon on the Mount.” Most Americans are familiar with it. It reminds us that we are all in effect “insurance” policies for each other. The Master spoke often about taking care of children, strangers, visitors, prisoners, the poor and the sick, not about cutting them off in their time of need.
Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” Yet, we live in a country where it’s somehow more important to fund “bunker busters” and B-2 bombers than HIV research. I wonder what the world would be like if every dollar spent on war in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Gaza, and many others had been spent on scientific research and healthcare, as well as housing, clothing, feeding, and educating people. Do we really believe trillions spent on war will magically bring about peace?
In my moments of exasperation, I’m tempted to shout at Congressmen and Senators, “Why don’t you guys just pass a bill saying, ‘round up the poor, the old, the “illegals,” and those with disabilities, take them out in the desert, shoot them, and bury them in mass graves’? This would at least be honest! Isn’t this what you ultimately want to do? Why bother with half-measures like deportations or program cuts, when you can just kill the problem? Then the 0.1% could have all the wealth and not worry about the plebes, except for those they “need” to keep things running!” But I digress. Venting all the way.
With patience and care, our tree made it through a difficult time, but it’s not the same tree it was before. The weeping parts are gone now. In their place there is a different kind of growth, stronger, nobler in a way. It stands to remind us that we shouldn’t give up to soon. It also reminds us that some things are worth the effort in the long run. I could have cut down our Weeping Cherry and used my time and effort for something else. Either way it would weep no more. It’s a matter of which choice we prefer. Caring or cutting?
MurrayWorks 