Share, someone suggested....

Professor Zoe Hammer of Prescott College asked a question in her Masters of Social Justice and Human Rights class that made her students laugh. “What if the U.S. Border Patrol were put to work making community gardens?” At first the comment seemed outlandish…. When you looked at the overall budget, the money and resources allocated to the Border Patrol and its accompanying apparatus, couldn’t the money be spent more wisely? Couldn’t housing, education, health, and other human services use a boost in resources? As writer Betsy Hartmann asks: “Might the challenge of climate change provide an opportunity to rethink the meaning of development and economic growth in ways that promote redistribution of power and wealth while simultaneously protecting the environment?” —Todd Miller, Storming the Wall: Climate Change, Migration, and Homeland Security.

Why is the notion of sharing either ludicrous or “idealistic”? What are we, that the idea of sharing our resources with others seems more outlandish or impractical than the idea of protecting our resources from others? Who set these ideas in motion, and who is served by them?

Sue and I saw this sticky note affixed to a post as we were taking a walk.