Humanity House
Poverty is more than being homeless, hungry, dirty, or without clothing or medical care. Poverty goes deep into a persons soul. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is greater than any physical symptom of being poor.
We have a tendency to see those living in poverty as being less than. Less than us, less than those we love, less than human. Undeserving, because of their appearance, of affection, love, human contact and compassion. We blame those in poverty, forgetting that life is the luck of the draw. We do not get to choose the family that we are born into. Everyone of us has a brain that processes events and circumstances in a different way. To put your experience and your process onto another person is to do a great disservice to yourself and the other person.
There is a great deal of luck involved in having what you might call a successful life. There is a lot to be said for being lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. For some, it happens all of the time; for some, it happens once in a lifetime, and for others it never happens.
This country was built by people who were oppressed, poverty-stricken and by slaves. The poor were brought here by the British and put into indentured servitude. Their children were also assigned debt. When a parent died, the children assumed the parents debt and were kept in poverty for their entire lives, which were usually short. People in poverty were seen as less than animals and were given less care than animals.
Not much has changed in the 400-year history of our country. We are the only country that blames the poor, homeless, or hungry on being just that. We blame them for not getting an education, not working hard enough, giving up, having too many children, making poor decisions, not giving it their all, for being lazy. We blame and blame and blame. And then we look at the poor in other countries and our hearts bleed for them. We go on long flights to do good deeds to help lift these people in poverty up, to show them that we care in our land of plenty, so far away.
And then we return home and finger wag at the poor people here.
We need to open our hearts and our minds to people living in poverty. We need to see them, talk to them. Ask them how they are. You may be the only person who has spoken to them in months. You may be surprised at what you learn about yourself and about them. You could begin to see the people around you in a different light.
If you feel like you are just one person, one drop in the ocean, remember that the ocean without that one drop is less than it is with it. It is never too late to remember that kindness matters!
We go on long flights to do good deeds to help the poor elsewhere. And then we return home and finger wag at the poor here.
