This is the time of holiday spirit. We give thanks for our families, friends, and well-being and honor the call of love and compassion for those less fortunate: that we treat our neighbors as we would want to be treated.
Respecting our neighbors not only is the ethical thing to do, it also is common sense – helping our neighbors in their time of need is a smart investment in our future and our community. Numerous studies repeatedly show that investing in programs like food assistance, unemployment, and preventive health care pay for themselves many times over.
While some Republicans have called for “the end of empathy,” claiming that each of us should be entirely on our own, generations of American leaders in both political parties have recognized that we do better – both morally and economically – when we invest in our future by providing a resilient social safety net for those who are struggling.
Here in Montana, our State Constitution wisely notes that “the dignity of the human being is inviolable” (Article II, Section 4).
This protection of human rights echoes the approach of America’s religious and political leaders during the Great Depression and WWII. President Roosevelt acknowledged that real social and economic security was based upon a country that created and maintained four essential freedoms that all people should enjoy: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from fear, and freedom from want.
These four freedoms symbolize the fight for democracy and human rights that were at the core of the policies that allowed America to boom following the world war and maintain its role as the world’s leader.
But now, we have political leadership that wants to ignore these values and lessons. Leaders who say that fears about rising costs are a “con job” and who treat funding for child nutrition or family health care as a nuisance compared to their goal of cutting taxes for large corporations and millionaires.
This view—while appealing to some—is selfish and short-sighted. The term “social safety net” may sound like wonky jargon but its positive impacts are felt by all American families: reducing the number of seniors in poverty, making sure rural, isolated areas have health care, and providing home heating assistance during Montana’s cold winters.
Programs like these help those in dire need while also being a smart investment in our community and our future. Montanans understand, for example, that making sure kids have access to good public schools across Montana is essential to helping students’ achieve their academic potential.
Montana and America’s recognition of human dignity encompass an understanding of what it means to be human, what it means to be compassionate, and what it means to invest in human potential.
This holiday season I am grateful for the food, shelter, and education with which I am lucky to be blessed. I also am grateful for America’s continuing understanding that building a society based upon human rights allows everyone to experience security, hope, and the possibility of the American Dream.
Andrea Olsen is a Democratic state senator from Missoula who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee.