Interconnectivity

Consider how an ear of corn is produced. Most of us would point to the labor of the farmer in tilling the soil, sowing the seed, and harvesting the grain. But it is not as simple as that. The farmer needs the blacksmith to make the spade, ploughshare, sickle, and axe. He needs the carpenter to make a fram for the plough and to make a yoke for the horse. He needs the leather worker to make the harness. He needs the builder to make a stable for the horse, and a barn to store the hay and grain. He needs a baker to turn the grain into bread, otherwise his labors are worthless. And he needs the forest worker to provide wood for the carpenter to saw, and wood for the baker to heat the oven. So just to produce corn, many different people are needed. Since we depend on one another for our very survival, why do we ever try to exploit and cheat one another? Nothing could be more stupid and irrational than to try to get the better of someone else; people who cheat and exploit others are cheating and exploiting themselves.

-St. John Chrysostom

I think about the politics of the day and the anger that is out there when I read this. Everything is connected including, in a way, cheating people. (Think about someone who runs a Pay Day Loan operation and then uses the profits to, well, buy stuff). All I have to do is to look personally at my job to see how it connects to the rest of the economy.

We sell insurance to small businesses. Small businesses do most of the hiring in this country. I have been used to working with big corporations - I worked for a large accounting firm, audited huge, Fortune 500, public companies, and now I work for a Fortune 500 public company. But, large as we are, and as much as my world has revolved around large businesses, we need small businesses to thrive! This is something I have to remind myself of when I wonder what the "big deal" is about small businesses.

It's a circle, too. Although I do a lot of shopping online, or at Wal-Mart, or at a large grocery store, I also do patronize small businesses without knowing it. What is a local restaurant but a small business? And when I needed a contractor? So they help me by being customers of the company I work for, and I help them out with my patronage.

Certainly all people should look at their lives this way. So many people get angry at "the rich" or "big business." But we all rely on each other. If someone who makes cars resents those who buy cars, what good is that? It would be like a doctor resenting sick people.