Taking the Time to Make a Difference

I was late getting into work one day, because I had to wait for a plumber to finish some work at our house. The expense of the plumbing is one of the results of owning a home – it takes dollars and time to take care of it. The desire to own a home is among the many components of the economic turmoil in the world today. There are many uncertainties about owning a home and being able to pay for it, along with real concerns for savings, pensions and investments. I was struck by a commentary published in the MCW Review, a newsletter from the Movement of Christian Workers in London. It provides a viewpoint from the perspective of someone outside America. The writer in the British newsletter is Clayton Sinyai. He says that “the financial crisis on Wall Street that has now spread across the globe is rooted in the collapse of a speculative housing bubble that brought with it mass defaults of the high-interest loans that had sustained it.” He observes that the American suburb, from the European point of view, “has long been a figure of amusement – or disdain.” But then he goes on to say, “it is important to recognize the social and cultural value of the ubiquitous single-family home in American life.” And not only is it a matter of social and cultural value – he points out. “Catholic social teaching, after all, has differed from various forms of socialism in the value it assigns to private property – precisely as the basis of family life.” Sinyai looks at American history and sees the nineteenth century as a time when abundant land allowed people to acquire property. Farmers and those in various trades owned homes where they raised their families. As factories and offices took workers away from family farms and shops, “the single-family home represented private property as it was meant to be: a source of stability, which bound the members of the family together in relation to a shared space and article of property.” Today, though, we have witnessed high interest rates, predatory lending plans and the temptation of owning a home derogatorily called a “McMansion.” Sinyai concludes that “the ‘American model’ of deregulated capital and labor markets has proven to have feet of clay, failing to deliver the limitless growth and endlessly increasing consumption promised by its advocates.” And finally, Sinyai acknowledges that “we have been putting the gifts of God’s creation to profane and selfish ends. If the spreading economic suffering engendered by this crisis is to have any redemptive value, it will be in the call to renew our understanding of property as an instrument for fostering solidarity in our relations with men and women everywhere.”

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Not everyone may agree with Sinyai’s thinking, but I hope it stimulates a lot of thinking. Is my home for me and my family? Or is it for status? Does my home help my family to have a greater unity? Or do the large spaces and many amenities tend to isolate each of us from the others? If my home is a source of stability for me and my family, why would I not wish others to have the same blessings? And if so, what can I do?

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Take the time to examine the programs and projects that help people to achieve this source of stability. Consider how you might assist Habitat for Humanity or other efforts to provide decent housing. Examine the legislation – nationally and in many states and localities – to establish affordable housing trust funds. Take the time to give thanks for the home you have. Help another family with your time or your money or your influence at city hall. It’s time to make a difference!

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Visit the Movement of Christian Workers at www.mcworkers.org.

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