Two front-page stories in the July 5 Maine Sunday Telegram, read side-by-side, provoked the same question: What do we consider essential?

One was about the billions of defense dollars flowing through Maine’s economy, supporting major employers, small businesses, workforce training, housing, childcare and whole communities; the other was about families in one town fighting to keep their local birthing center open.

These are not separate, disconnected stories. This is one story, a story about money and about what we have decided is essential to our way of life.

I believe that budgets are moral documents. Money tells the truth about what we treasure, what we protect and what we are willing to prioritize for ourselves and our communities. The contrast between these two stories should trouble us. 

When the mission is birth? We are at risk. We are told that the numbers don’t work. We have to patch together resources. We have to close things down. We can’t find the money. We call it struggle. 

When the mission is defense? We know how to mobilize. We create alliances. We attract and train workers. We invest in infrastructure. We find the money. We call it security.

But what is security if a mother in labor cannot safely reach a hospital? What is economic development if young families are discouraged from building their lives here? What kind of future are we funding if we can build weapons of war, but we cannot support new life?

Randi Hogan
Scarborough