We Luv Video
Are We United?
RECEIVED Thu., Sept. 16, 2004
Dear Editor,
I don't know you. How are we united? Your bumper sticker only shows me what you have done with someone else's words. "United We Stand" it reads. What, then, about the other half of that rally cry, which reminds us of the consequence of division? I believe it extremely apparent that our culture of capitalism has forgotten about uniting anything except profit and banks.
I see you in line at the store. I see you driving in your vehicle. I see you standing in your front lawn. Who are you? What could possibly unite us without any acknowledgement of each other's lives? As far as I can tell, the only way I support your life and you mine is through the economy of money. The consequence of my existence in the city affects you only by how much money I earn and spend. Where that money goes also affects you, and your money affects me likewise.
What does being my neighbor mean to you? Do you care how I feel about your choices? Do you know I care about what you feel? Do you think we could find something that unites us more than money? I ask because I am searching for exactly that. If we are to stand united then I will consent only by knowing what is in your heart.
By writing this to "you," I mean to communicate to everyone I do not know. I mean to express a point of view held by one of your fellow humans. When you consider who "America" is and what unites its citizens, remember everyone you do not know and allow them into your decisions. What is the purpose of unity if you will still exclude certain pieces or persons?
I don't know you. How are we united? Your bumper sticker only shows me what you have done with someone else's words. "United We Stand" it reads. What, then, about the other half of that rally cry, which reminds us of the consequence of division? I believe it extremely apparent that our culture of capitalism has forgotten about uniting anything except profit and banks.
I see you in line at the store. I see you driving in your vehicle. I see you standing in your front lawn. Who are you? What could possibly unite us without any acknowledgement of each other's lives? As far as I can tell, the only way I support your life and you mine is through the economy of money. The consequence of my existence in the city affects you only by how much money I earn and spend. Where that money goes also affects you, and your money affects me likewise.
What does being my neighbor mean to you? Do you care how I feel about your choices? Do you know I care about what you feel? Do you think we could find something that unites us more than money? I ask because I am searching for exactly that. If we are to stand united then I will consent only by knowing what is in your heart.
By writing this to "you," I mean to communicate to everyone I do not know. I mean to express a point of view held by one of your fellow humans. When you consider who "America" is and what unites its citizens, remember everyone you do not know and allow them into your decisions. What is the purpose of unity if you will still exclude certain pieces or persons?
Matthew Duncan