Column: Reject the 'cult of money'

We live in a world today that worships money — literally those who have money are on top socially and politically.

As Pope Francis reminds us, the worship of money is immoral and must not go unquestioned. The Pope even went as far to describe this worship as the “Cult of Money.”

It is also dangerous in many ways. Let me just outline a few that are most troubling to me:

Wealthy corporations pour massive amounts of money into our political system in the form of lobbying and campaign contributions in exchange for access and influence on legislation. This is important because our political system is so powerful that as you read this there are decisions being made that will affect many thousands of people’s lives in ways they don’t even know about.

Let’s consider our health. We like to think we are completely in control of our own health, but many have no control of the food that is available to them.

There are roughly 23 million people in the United States who live in food deserts and for many of those the only available sources of food are outside of a 10-mile radius. Why is this the case?

Why do people spend their time and money on trips to poverty-stricken countries when we have our own poverty pockets in the United States?

The answer is, as it always comes back to, money. Let’s take a look at our diet. It is no secret that a plant-based/whole food diet is the most conducive to a healthy life, and can even reverse many preventable illnesses like heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

Why is it that little is done to transform our food systems to prioritize people’s health over the profit of the food industry?

Why is it that we spend far more money on health care than any other country in the world?

I just can’t think of any logical reasons to explain why there is a McDonald’s on every corner and not a grocery store.

Doesn’t matter what kind of person you are — this is wrong.

So why is this the norm?

Maybe it’s because it’s much more profitable for industries to make more drugs to treat symptoms than to treat the cause of an illness.

Why is there nothing our government can do to protect us from these predatory acts fueled by corporate interest? The answer, sadly, always comes back to money. I cannot stop thinking about these issues and I hope you, readers, will start thinking about them too.

I try not to think that we are powerless, but rather are dissuaded by being involved in our political process.

Without trying to sound too apocalyptic here — truthfully, the worship of money and the increasing power of corporate interest is damaging our lives in deceptive ways.

We can do something to right these wrongs, and I urge you not to accept the status quo simply because it is the status quo.