Common Good

illustration by Gabriela Pesqueira

I hope you will have time to read my new essay for the Ideas section of The Atlantic. A brief excerpt:

"My own parents...cut corners so that they could help less fortunate kids from my school, or our church. I was taught to sacrifice my own comfort for the good of others, whether it be by volunteering my seat to elders in a crowded waiting room, letting a pregnant woman go in front of me in the grocery line, or giving half of my sandwich to a hungry classmate. I may not have always lived up to these standards, but I was taught to try. I’m sure I’m not alone. Sacrificing for the common good was something most of us were taught when I was growing up. Just a few decades later, I’m seeing people in my hometown, and all over the country, thinking only of themselves. They’re not just unwilling to make sacrifices for others during a pandemic; they’re angry about being asked to."





Comments

mac said…
Spot-on and insightful, Silas. Thanks for sharing this.
August 24, 2021 at 9:10 AM
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