Providing for the Common Good

Denmark’s history of growing apples and berries in public places for all its citizens to enjoy goes back more than 500 years.  Now, as shown here, Ottawa and Adelaide are joining Copenhagen in making this happen in modern times. 

The most attractive feature of this idea isn’t pragmatic in the least; it’s symbolic of caring about the public good.  Unlike the United States, Denmark doesn’t have a significant percentage of hungry and homeless citizens.  In fact, it doesn’t have any, so there is zero chance that the apple this little boy is eating is something that his family is struggling to afford. Having said that, it must be a good feeling to know that the beautiful fruit trees that people pass in parks, churchyards, and all other public spaces are there to provide something of value to anyone who wants it.

We’re seeing right now what the opposite philosophy, unbridled greed, ultimately delivers: indifference to human rights, mass bankruptcies, people dying of treatable diseases and sick people skipping medication they can’t unafford, child hunger, people working two or three jobs, inferior K-12 education, people who can’t afford to go to college, unlimited political corruption, oligarchy, a fake news outlet that is tantamount to state-run media, America despised on the world stage, tent cities, UN representatives coming to America to investigate mass poverty, PhDs working at Starbucks, one-bedroom apartments unaffordable to 100% of minimum wager earners, 259,000 Wells Fargo employees working for a criminal organization bearing the guilt of compromised integrity because they can’t afford to quit and re-enter the job market, a significant percentage of Walmart’s 2.2 million employees on food stamps, teenage girls forced into sex work, 40% of Americans who can’t cover an unexpected $400 expense, endless wars, a country’s actively contributing to a decaying environment on a warming planet–all in the context of huge tax cuts for billionaires.

This can’t last. Compassion for our fellows is part of what it means to have a sustainable civilization.