Danielle Levy

Whether or not to provide medical services to illegal immigrants has become a contentious political issue. But underneath isn’t it more than politics? Some may say it’s one of social justice, and it is that. But couldn’t it be an issue even more fundamental? Could it be a matter of compassion, or as some might prefer to call it love or even charity? If so, what would compassion/love/charity direct us to do if a pregnant mother from Mexico here without papers was in labor and had a problem delivery? Would it direct us to let her or the baby die? Would it guide us to give care to a young worker who looked he might have swine flu? How about an elderly person here for years whose illegal status managed to be undetected and who suddenly shows signs of a heart attack, how would compassion suggest we act, what course would it map out for us?

The U.S. entered into $37.8 billion worth of arms agreements in 2008. This, according to the Congressional Research Service, a division of the Library of Congress, represents 68.4 percent of all global arms business, and is up from the $25.4 billion the year before. Worldwide, however, probably due to the recession, arms sales declined. But the proportion of sales by the U.S. was particularly noticeable since the value of global sales for 2008 was $55.2 billion, actually a 7.6 percent decrease over 2007.
One can say the magnitude of the U.S. involvement, although a fraction of one percent of the GNP, involves a lot of jobs. In an economic downturn that is relevant. Besides we live in a world that uses arms, and therefore buys them. If the U.S. doesn’t sell them, then buyers will go somewhere else. Russia, for example, who just gave Venezuela a $2.2 billion line of credit for them to buy missiles, tanks and anti-rockets systems? Still what does such an involvement in arm sales say about our culture, our government, our values, our world? Ought it to occur with such little transparency and discussion? Does it advance us toward turning our swords into ploughshares, towards some sort of better way?

I read that Cameron Douglas, Michael Douglas’30-year old son was arrested for drug possession again and that the amount of the methamphetamines found was such he’s being charged with selling and distribution. If convicted the penalty is a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life. “What makes an adult brought up with every advantage engage in drug selling?” I asked a friend. “Easy,” she said, “When you have an iconic father and grandfather, a stepmother who’s not only close to your age but a sex-pot, and your father was a lousy parent, who are you?” Her point was that you do what you have to do in order to establish your identity as separate from that of your famous parents. All’s that has truth of course, but what about a ghetto or barrio kid who’s had lousy parenting, whose father is gone and whose mother is too busy working and spending 4 hours on the bus to get to work to offer much guidance, who has no role model and no opportunities? That person struggles for identity too. When he or she ends up selling drugs, there’s no one to offer an easy explanation of why they did what they did. There will also be no one to pay experienced lawyers and his chances of ending up serving 10 years to life will be, if not certain, at least very much higher.