Originally posted at Writeindependent.org on November 9, 2011
The real crisis today isn’t just an economic one. Yes, we are experiencing an economic crisis worldwide of epic proportions. But the reason it is different than any other crisis is its cause: the economic challenges of today rest on the shoulders of the people who have created this catastrophe in the first place, and we can not climb out of it without their help.
I have been saying this in various ways throughout my posts, and today, I just read an excerpt from one of my favorite economists in Jeffrey Sach’s new book called The Price of Civilization: Reawakening American Virtue and Prosperity.
If I may quote here, to entice the reader:
“The root of America’s economic crisis lies in a moral crisis: the decline of civic virtue among America’s political and economic elite. A society of markets, laws, and elections is not enough if the rich and powerful fail to behave with respect, honesty, and compassion toward the rest of society and the world.”
I can not stress this enough: the people of this world are crying out to those who have to provide to the rest of us with enough to get by. We are at a crossroads: either we continue to decline as a country, or our fellow Americans must conjure all the conscience they lost along the way toward amassing their fortunes, and apply their thoughts and actions toward repairing our economy. Our lives are at stake here.
I still believe in the basic goodness of humanity. I still believe that people who live in this world, and not in some notion of future hell, will save us from that future hell. You get what you give; “and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” –Paul McCartney