There have been a couple of interesting letters in the Globe lately about personal wealth.
One letter extols the virtues of capitalism as being the economic system most suited to righteous folk, who, by their industriousness glorify God and demonstrate His favor and blessings toward them.
The other letter criticizes the Obamas for their appearance on trips of state at Broadway shows and elegant Parisian venues while American citizens languish in queues at the food bank, unemployment office, etc.
I would like to add to the dialogue by suggesting that there is nothing wrong with working hard and acquiring personal wealth, but that it is important to share what one has with those less fortunate.
All rich people aren’t greedy, and all poor people aren’t helpless. We should all be trying, even in difficult economic times, to find a balance in our lives between abject materialism and the learned helplessness that can result from poverty.
There are other types of wealth and prosperity than simply monetary. There is wealth in the love of family and friends, prosperity in service toward humanity. We can give away the largesse of our time and energy to a worthy cause. We can give away our used clothing, our surplus canned goods, sometimes without even asking for a tax receipt!
We can share the gift of education, working toward literacy for all, volunteering to lead a sing-along at a nursing home, knit sweaters and booties for a NICU; I could go on all day. Heck, we can barter services: a lawn mowing for a basket of home-grown tomatoes. I guess what I am trying to say is, please let’s not be self-righteous about what we have. Let’s consider ourselves to be darn lucky, and to share what we have with others.
The excesses of the so-called “prosperity gospel” are bad, but they need not make us cynical about either the wealthy or the poor among us. Don’t let the abuses of a few blind you to the truth that we are all in this together and that we can all only benefit from sharing.
Julia Stone
Joplin
Opinion
Voices: Consider ourselves lucky
- Opinion
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Our View: Victims should come first
Millions of dollars in donations have poured in from around the world since the May 22, 2011, tornado. Those donations represent money from lemonade stands, charity auctions, corporate gifts and celebrity checks, just to name a few. In fact, one year later donations continue to come to Joplin.
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Beth Meeker, guest columnist: Same-sex marriage battle a quest for equal rights
I would like to take a moment to reply to guest columnist Anson Burlingame’s, “The Marriage Debate” (Globe, May 13).
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Sunday Forum: 2012 graduation speakers key on tornado, mall school and president’s visit
Editor’s note: In addition to speeches by President Barack Obama and Gov. Jay Nixon, Joplin High School’s top students addressed graduates, faculty, parents and other guests packed into the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center on the Missouri Southern State University campus. Following are the text of those speeches.
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Geoff Caldwell, guest columnist: Pack mentality takes truth as a casualty
President Obama’s Joplin graduation speech Monday showed that while there’s the political “right,” there’s also a very active “rabid” political right.
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Your View: ‘Study’ can mean anything
A few evenings ago, I watched a television program on the science of marriage.
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Our View: Support for museum
How can you tell the story of Joplin without the accounts of its mining history?
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Our View: Finding middle ground
The G-8 summit held last week in Camp David ended as expected.
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Anson Burlingame, guest columnist: Class of 2012 upholds character, hope
My oldest granddaughter was part of the class of 2012 from Joplin High School, and I attended the ceremony on Monday night.
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Scott Charton, guest columnist: 'Deadline in Disaster' film a story about storytellers
Local newspapers are at their best when they help their communities confront, understand, endure and overcome shared challenges.
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Our View: Make voting easiser
This year’s ballot will not include a proposed constitutional amendment that photo identification be required at the polls in Missouri. Good.
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