Our director, Fr. Rich recently gave a homily applauding Warren Buffet for making the public statement, by announcing that the upper class should have to pay more on taxes. He said that the rich get out of paying taxes, even though they have the money for it. He believes it would be in the best interest for the US to give higher taxes to the rich. After recently hearing what a fiticoco (Chuukese word for tangled mess) the US is, how they want to abolish unions (really, Wisconson?) and soon eliminate the middle class, this brought tears to my eyes. I know I am far removed from many things happening in the States, but I believe what Buffet is talking about is something that I have had the privilege of seeing in the past year.
Though the Micronesians don't have much, and many live off of the land, I have seen something so beautiful in this culture. Micronesians share everything. Literally, I have not opened a can of soda, candy bar, or bag of chips and not shared it. Everything I have is not mine, its everyone's; its the communities. Its actually something that is expected, that we will share everything with the community. Even when someone from the family gets a big monetary bonus at work or gets brought food to feed an army (which happens a lot more then you think) they share it with their neighbors and their clans. For an American girl, this took some getting used to, and at first I wanted the bag of chips or the soda to myself. But after living here for a year, I believe this is one system, that actually works, people are actually happy, and money really means buying more goods for our friends and neighbors. Sharing is caring. Government leaders and high chiefs (our upper class) also give away everything to share with the people, because that is their culture and it is the right thing to do.
So what do Warren Buffet and Micronesians have in common? The idea of sharing, the idea that everyone is created equal, and everyone deserves to be treated as a child of God. Its a simple thing really, share. Share what you have with everyone. And in the end, I have faith, that you will be blessed in the most beautiful way.
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