I Am Not a Piece of Plastic

About 40 years or so ago, while I was earning my Master of Science in Social Work degree at the University of Louisville’s Raymond A. Kent School of Social Work, one of the ongoing dialogues regarded the unjust nature of the “plastic society” that was and is the norm of the United States.

Plastic, as you know, is inexpensive and therefore disposable. So we dispose of all sorts of containers made of plastic, easily broken toys we give to our children, bags in which we carry our purchases, etc. American society has so bought it to the idea that things are disposable that we create even automobiles, appliances, houses, and much more that are made not to be permanent but to be used up and subsequently disposed of as trash. Sentient beings such as pets and even we ourselves have come to be seen as disposable once our society judges them (us) as no longer having intrinsic value.

We Americans have exported this concept that everything and everyone is disposable to the entire world—a world culture that is based on the monetary worth of things—all things—including human beings.

As I have grown older I have come to realize that I am seen as a plastic “thing.” For example, the United States Veterans Affairs bureaucracy has treated me as a commodity negating my humanity. I qualify this statement by emphasizing that, for the most part, this is not true of VA medical staff. It is quite true of those bureaucrats with whom veterans must deal in order to obtain the promised medical care. One of the ongoing “jokes” I have encountered since I began my association with Veterans Affairs goes:

Thank you for serving. Now, how can we fuck you today?

I have experiences of having my humanity denied, of being treated as a commodity by the Department of Veterans Affairs; I have heard many stories from and about other veterans who have experienced similar treatment.

Many of us have sought justice within the VA. The usual result is that our pleas to be recognized as human beings have been ignored. “Rules” are more important to the bureaucrats than justice, compassion, and humanity.

This injustice and dehumanization goes far beyond the federal bureaucracy of the United States. It is in the corporations of this world, using up their workers and then disposing of them like pieces of trash. It is intrinsic to capitalism and the class system of the United States that has been exported to the entire planet. It is a basic cause of poverty; of genocide and slavery; of the abuse of women, children, the elderly, the physically and emotionally ill; of people smuggling; of racism; of every form of human exploitation.  

My request—my plea—is simple: recognize that we are human beings, not things to be manipulated and disposed of like pieces of plastic. This plea is on behalf of all sentient creatures on the earth. We need a prophet to deliver us from injustice and slavery!

(YHWH) said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

 Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.  The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” ~ Exodus 3.6-10

Here am I, Lord. Send me.

Being a Veteran Isn't Easy These Days

I saw a man without a leg
And when he caught my stare
He said, "I left the mate to this
Buried Over There."

I saw a man without an eye
And when he looked at me
He said, "I gave the other one
To save democracy."

I saw a man without a heart
His hands were soft and clean
He said, "I made my little pile
In Nineteen-seventeen."

A Message to the Greedy and Selfish of the 1%, their Stooges and Lackeys, including the Tea and (new) Republican Parties from the Prophet Amos

Hear this, you that trample on the needy,   and bring to ruin the poor of the land,
saying, ‘When will the new moon be over   so that we may sell grain;and the sabbath,   so that we may offer wheat for sale?We will make the ephah small and the shekel great,   and practise deceit with false balances,
buying the poor for silver   and the needy for a pair of sandals,   and selling the sweepings of the wheat.’
  The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Did you hear him say "Blessed are the greedy?"

Or, "Blessed are the selfish?"

Or, "Blessed are they who serve the 1%?"

I didn't.

Let anyone with ears to hear listen!