We Must Because We Can (and Should!)

Last night I found myself in the kitchen at the seminary, grabbing a late night snack and chatting with some of the other guys. For whatever odd reason, guys end up meeting in the kitchen, munching on junk food and start talking about deep topics such as religion and philosophy. Why a can of Pepsi and a half-eaten bag of Doritos puts us in the introspective mood, I'll never know. Anyways, myself, Tyler Tenbarge, and a few other guys were talking about retreats and conferences we'd given or been to, and Tyler brought up one he gave for FFA called "We Must Because We Can." Being the nerds we are, myself and a few others pointed out that just because can do something doesn't mean we must do it (Think "We can massacre an entire demographic --> Genocide). Thus, one of us added the qualifier "We Should," making Tyler's conference title "We Must Because We Can and We Should." Granted, that idea doesn't roll off the tongue quite so easily, but it does bring up a moral imperative worth discussing...

We are a fortunate people. As students of Marian University, we're part of a rather exclusive demographic in this world. We're typically not underfed (although some of us may live off of ramen and easy mac) nor are we lacking in shelter, clean water, adequate clothing, the company of others, etc. etc. In general, we're pretty well off, and there's nothing wrong with being well off. However, not everyone is so well off. Even in Indianapolis, there are people who are malnourished, people who lack shelter, clothes, clean water, and other basic human needs. There's needs among our neighbors, needs that, with some effort and sacrifice on our behalf, we can help fulfill. We can help them, we should help them, then doesn't it follow that we must help them? What's keeping you from coming to STARR this week? Nap time? Some people don't have a bed to nap on. Study time? Some people can't afford an education. Hanging out with friends? Some people don't have friends to hang out with. Consider what you can give, know that you should give, and see that we must work to better our world.