Monday, November 28, 2005

KCRW's To The Point aired a discussion on Poverty on 11/25/05.  Some questions and statements about poverty in that show really disturbed me.  First, how can any intelligent person in this modern society think that race has anything to do with a human beings ability to survive and prosper?  Secondly, poverty is not a disease that you can simply take medication for.  Lastly, you cannot force people to be prosporous who do not want to be.  I believe that poverty descriptors related to race are misleading.  I don't have the studies available at the moment but I believe that education, social influences, and motivation are the keys - all of them tied closely to one another.  How can you get an education if you come from a broken home who doesn't believe in school?  Or if your friends are all out at night vandelizing the neighborhood and killing each other how can wake up in the morning and feel that world is a wonderful place and that you want to be part of it?  This is not related to race but lifestyle.  Two thirds of those living below the poverty line are white.  I have been one of them for all my life until very, very recently.  Special privelage does not come to anybody - especially because they had a "hard life" or they were being "held down by the man."  Motivation, determination, and hard work will move the poor to better educate themselves and change their social environment resulting in values that lead them and their family to a life of prosperity.  I know because I am doing it now. Being poor is not a disease.  You cannot prescribe a "fix" to save the worlds poor.  As a society we can help those who do not want to be poor by helping them change their social environment, obtain an education, and thus develop values that better fit with society and it's current standards for prosperity.  This does not mean that everybody will become rich, but they could.  Whatsmore is that every able-bodied poor person has the ability to (over time) save money, buy a car, have health insurance, and build a retirement.  American dream?  You can only help those who help themselves.  Many people choose to feel sorry for themselves and treat themselves as if they deserve to suffer.  Granted, they are influenced by strong social and cultural currents, each person still has the ability to choose.  This does not account for the few cases where a person is physically or mentally incapable due to a handicap.  I have met many people over the last several years who retaliated against "the system" or raged because they had bad credit and couldn't get a decent auto loan.  I say change your game. Wake up in the morning and choose to live better.  Choose to become educated.  Choose to do whatever it takes to bring yourself up.  I chose to join the US Army for five years.  Finished an undergraduate degree while enlisted and used my education benefits for an MA after I completed my degree.  I did think that life was hopeless at one point but I didn't go from begging for food 10 years ago to driving a nice car by complaining about the governement.  I spoke up.  I forgot my pride and asked people for advice.  I looked at what other people did and how they lived so I could model that.  I grew up next to a "project" in Los Angeles from a single parent home with no family ties at all.  I never even knew my dad until I was 25.  I can go on and on about how hard it was to be on my own at 16, or to drop out of high school because I had to pay my own rent.  My life was hard and I chose to step up.  The only difference between me and any other "poverty stricken" person is choice. Once a poor person chooses to "step up" then the resources and tools will be available to them.  Our job is to facilitate those tools.  Help them help themselves. 10:07:38 AM  comment []  Google It!

It just makes me sick.... Baby wounded by rocks thrown at car near Hebron [JPost.com Headlines] 9:29:44 AM  comment []