Ahhhhh - gotcha, didn't I? Those of you who know me, the title probably surprised you - I'm not a big fan of preaching religion, and for those of you who don't, well, the word "faith" here isn't likely what you're thinking. There's enough folks out there with very loud opinions about the role of religion in the United States and what it should and shouldn't do, where it should and shouldn't be, what we will and won't tolerate, etc., etc., so I'm leaving that to them.
I'm talking about faith in people. Faith in each other. Faith as trust.
Who can we trust today? Our moms? Dads? Our children? For the most part, I hope so - but we've all been privy to the horror stories of blood on blood disasters, and many have been on the receiving end of crushing blows of disappointment, when that one relative, who we always thought would be there for us, suddenly wasn't...by choice. So that's certainly not a gimme.
Stories of corruption ranging from the expected (politicians) to the shocking (our teachers, caregivers, and clergy) continue to pelt us day in and day out as the ever growing newsfeeds bombard us with these tragedies. And there seems to be no end in sight.
Then there's the business of business, the daily transactions of our culture. Do you trust your service professionals? Do you have faith that salesmen are getting you the best deal at a fair price? Do you believe that people take such pride in their work that they are willing to guarantee their product/service? Do you think that thing you bought the other day will last until next year, much less a lifetime?
I don't.
And that saddens me.
Products deliberately made to be broken and replaced. Services rendered to engender repeat business (and not because they did such a good job the first time). Promises made and not kept, and remade prettier, but vaguer, emptier.
I'd like to think there was a time when you could. And once in a while, we stumble across a rare gem, a shimmer from a bygone era...where a handshake meant something. And someone's word was his/her bond. When people took pride in what they did, what they made, and each transaction was a labor of love and they and you were able to benefit from that.
But how often does that happen anymore? Greed has become so pervasisve in the American culture that there's almost no room left for honor.
So where do we go from here? Less government? Let the wolves in and few will survive. More government? We become sitting ducks to be taken advantage of.
The only way any of this will work is to restore our faith in each other. To love one another. To care about each other and the collective well-being. To learn to see beyond ourselves and our front door. To be willing to cross the street and be confident that when you get there you'll be okay and be welcomed. To be able to believe that anyone is telling us the truth. To hold people accountable for their words, for their actions. To not follow blindly because of style, but to press on for substance. To stop shouting and start listening. To be willing to help, to lend a hand. To keep our minds open to all the possibilities.
Figure that out, and you've got my vote.
