No Man is an Island

A friend of mine was offended because I wrote about a man I happened to meet who was intentionally walking away from his house. He was boasting to virtual strangers (us) that his wife's retirement and his salary are very good but since the economic downturn was the fault of the banks, he had the right to make them take it back. The right.

He bragged about knowing all the strategies to defraud the lender. Since some of the bailout money is coming out of my pocket, I am entitled to an opinion. I have the right to disagree when I know consumerism is about individual choice and individual responsibility. I have the right to be offended, and to say I am, even if others disagree. And I was and I am, for anyone who betters himself at the expense of the rest.

There is a lot of pain and suffering right now, innocent people being hurt in this fledgling economy. My heart goes out to those duped into believing they could afford things they clearly could not. There is appreciation in the people I meet, for a job, money in the bank, and stability even just in the moment. Humility is in the air.

Which was why this man's attitude was so offensive. As a country, where would we be and how would we survive if everyone did that? John Donne came to mind and I believe this to be true:

No man is an island, entire of itself.
Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less
As well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were.
Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls:
It tolls for thee.