We Need A Sense of Urgency

I woke up this morning with a sense of urgency.

Wasn’t sure what it was about...and then I realized what it was about.

I don't know if you have seen the footage from Venezuela...the country's cornered Dictator, Nicolas Maduro, with help from Communist Cuba's criminal regime, has sent thugs to the border of Venezuela and Columbia, to prevent humanitarian aide from entering the country.

 The people of Venezuela are starving to death under the Maduro regime. And Cuba, Russia, China and Bernie Sanders are siding with Maduro. Or in the case of Sanders, siding with whoever and whatever President Trump is against.

 America, along with Mexico, Canada, and the rest of the civilized world, have decided to no longer recognize Maduro as the legitimate leader of Venezuela, and are instead lining up with opposition leader Juan Guaido. That is the right thing to do at a minimum.

 As I was sitting, drinking my coffee and watching this unfold on TV this morning, Kristen leaned over and said - I can't imagine living under those conditions...we are so blessed to live in the United States.

 Amen to that!

 We are blessed to live in these United States.

 America is the richest country in the world. Our standard of living is superior, our freedoms and liberties and opportunities unparalleled.

 That's not to say there aren't other great countries to live in. Of course there are. But no country on Earth offers the opportunity to live the Universal Dream like America does.

 Unfortunately, not all of us are living the Universal Dream in this country. And nowhere is this more true than right here in Santa Barbara County.

 Today, Santa Barbara County has the third highest poverty rate in California. That isn't a typo...Santa Barbara County has the THIRD highest poverty rate in the state. And most of the people living in poverty in Santa Barbara County live in the north county.

 Friends, I don't know about you, but I believe it is unacceptable for people in America, and also California, but particularly Santa Barbara County, to be living in poverty. Especially when we are as wealthy in natural resources as Santa Barbara County is.

 It is tragic but true, a country, or even a county, that is rich in natural resources is no guarantee that the people who live there will be rich in opportunities.

 Venezuela has the largest oil and gas reserves in the world. And yet Venezuelans have lost, on average, 25 pounds in body weight last year, and almost 90 percent are living in poverty.

 Venezuelans, as well as those living in poverty in Santa Barbara County, aren't living in poverty due to their lack of ambition, or poor decisions...even though some people certainly lack ambition and make poor decisions. And those decisions can certainly result in them missing out on their hopes and their dreams.

 In Venezuela, and also in California, it isn't what the people are doing to themselves that always explains they're situation in life...in most cases it is what their government is doing to them.

 Venezuela is a communist dictatorship. And the people have no rights except those the dictator allows. But in Santa Barbara County, we live in a democratic republic. So why are so many north county families living in poverty?

 The reason, as unfair and outrageous as it is, is because the representatives we elect in the north county to the Board of Supervisors are outvoted systematically by the elected Supervisors representing Carpinteria, Montecito, Santa Barbara, Hope Ranch, Goleta, and Isla Vista.

 By the way, Isla Vista has some of the highest percentage of people living in poverty in Santa Barbara County.

Unfortunately, a pampered group of transient college students who attend UCSB align themselves politically with local candidates who preach social justice, but are, in fact, nothing more than political and economic elitists.

These south county politicians champion and defend a political and economic status quo that has resulted in the wealthy getting wealthier, while the rest of the county, especially north county, is left behind.

What Santa Barbara County needs, is what the people of Venezuela need...new leaders who are committed with every fiber of their being to advancing the cause of robust economic morality and justice.

The Morality of Prosperity!

We need leaders who aren't just passive believers in or supporters of policies that empower people...but who understand the importance of those policies and understand it from the marrow of their bones.

We need county supervisors who will make the cause of economic justice and the morality of prosperity part of their daily agenda. To be their highest priority. Indeed, central to their overall vision and mission.  

Without economic justice for those who are being left behind in our county, we will never lift them out of poverty. And without lifting families out of poverty, we will never build jails large enough to incarcerate all of the people we are leaving behind. 

I'm no sociologist, but it seems clear to me that people without hope, who live lives of quiet despair, and sometimes not so quiet lives...meaning they resort to crime or drugs, do not and will not respect your life, or your property. 

We are in this together...and we all have a stake in each other's future and success. We are, as the Bible teaches, our brothers' keepers. And that we are to love our neighbors like we love ourselves. 

So if you love yourself, than you must love others too. 

And today in Santa Barbara County we have too many neighbors living lives of quiet desperation, or chronic hopelessness. Nothing ever changes for them. 

Meanwhile, others who are more fortunate and who are already way ahead economically, continue to move ahead while leaving the less fortunate behind. 

I understand this isn't a popular message. I know it makes some people really angry when I talk about it or write about it. Good! 

Please join me in making these issues front and center in Santa Barbara County. Because we may not owe it anybody in particular, but we do owe it to everybody in general.