As Congress gradually closes in on a budget, let us put in a plea for prioritizing things that support our values of generosity, compassion, and stewardship of the earth. This means reducing money to the Pentagon and expanding the concept of “defense” to those who need defending the most: the children, the indigent, the homeless, the sick, as well as the rest of the living world which is suffering under our careless mastery.
Military spending accounts for well over half of discretionary spending in the Federal budget. By contrast, energy and the environment together only receive 3 percent. Health care and education receive a mere 6 percent each. We can afford to do better if we use the budget process to remember our commitment to love and beauty and our hope for a better world for our children.
Margaret Fisher
Clifton