A thief in our midst

We have abandoned them. We have abandoned the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. We have abandoned those who grow our food and those who nurture our young. We have abandoned our grandmother, our grandfather, our uncles and aunts, our gray haired pastors. We who claim we value life, all lives, that we hold love and compassion sacred, we have abandoned them.

This thief we ignore at our parties, in our loud gatherings and songs of joy, in our claims of strength and freedom, this thief knows weakness and false pride yet walks free among us. And while we in youthful arrogance and power, while we join those at the center with their eyes shut that brag about vigilance and care, while we abandon precaution and those who truly heal and care and donate their lives for their compassion, while we bluff this thief nibbles at our edges and steals our wealth, the lives of the innocent and the wise, the strength at the heart of diversity.

Jim DuBuisson

Sandpoint