Person A:  “We’re watching the soul of our nation being flushed down the toilet.”
Person B:  “Yeah, but the economy’s good.”

Have you ever noticed how many of our beliefs are tied to money? “Who cares about global aid? Look at all those billions we’re saving!”

From what I understand, Hitler came to power based largely on economic “promises.” And so many people looked away from the rest of it.

When I was in grad school for Social Work, one of my professors noted that everything comes down to money. I’ve never forgotten that. I mean, of course we need money. I’ve run non-profits. We needed money to survive, even though we stewarded it well. Money IS a bottom line, but it’s not the only bottom line.

The other one goes by a lot of names. Empathy. Love. Compassion. Goodness. Equity. Liberty. Selflessness. The Golden Rule. If we’re having to rationalize away these values to get to the money, we need to wake up. History repeats itself. And the love of money has so much power.

I once asked the question, “If you could consume 10% less food if it meant others could eat, would you do it?” Some would have to say no. 10% less food might mean starvation. But others of us could say yes. Our biggest loss would be a few pounds.

But there’s a downside to having two bottom lines. You might get called “woke.”

Or “kind.”