*she walks out of her office only to return minutes later. it's gone*
[the woman on the floor below me had her purse stolen a few hours ago]
..the notion of theft, thievery, stealing is that something is taken from someone else. something that doesn't belong the the thief. something that may hold more than monetary value to the owner.
in my mind the thought of "things" and acquiring them is far from what's really important. newer. nicer. better. faster. spark-lier. just things. they can all be replaced. and often times the newer they are, the more likely they are to fall apart. like people. places. vehicles. clothes. relationships. even food.
where did the times go where people worked hard for what they had? cherished every dime they clutched between their palms in the great depression? respected thy fellow man. no not now, not in the recession of this decade. slow decline in faith, in life, in the pursuit of happiness. not just a movie or on the declaration of independence: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. what is happiness? why are we pursuing it? it is something tangible? something we can eat or smell? taste or hold? something we can find at the bottom of a purse that doesn't belong to us that will make our world a better place? give us hope for a better day? when did becoming happy mean that we had to intentionally inflict pain on others?
some could argue, she should have locked her door, she should have done this, she should have done that. all true points perhaps, but it doesn't absolve the thief of the crime he committed. doesn't ease the mind of an elderly women whose personal belongings have been ravaged by a complete stranger, who will have her address, know her social security number and could even go as far as stealing her identity. she's a new woman, or is she? i know people who've had identities stolen and houses purchased by con artists. this world we live in. this place where a dollar takes the place of reaching out to the palm underneath it for some sense of unity. some sense of security. for this is the first time and won't be the last that the government once again has us turn on one another for what we lack, or what we think we lack, at the hands of complete strangers. no one sitting behind their desk with a tie, a cigar and an oceanfront property in the keys is being robbed. no one lining their pockets with crispy green paper at the expense of hardworking americans is giving up a time to those less fortunate.
what's been stolen is more than just money, or identity. we've lost who we are. and the government continues to steal the last bits of humanity we have left.
*the purse is found shortly after in a the men's bathroom. all that was taken was the money. but at what cost? is there humanity after all?*
