Discussing Poverty and It’s Ramifications

 Discussing poverty is addressing the elephant in the room. Reaching deep inside and addressing the ramifications of poverty in our lives and our community is fearful and intimidating to say the least. There are not many American families that haven’t discussed or experienced poverty on some level. Poverty is not just about not having things or necessities, it can also be a state of mind coming from the fear of hoping never to have the experience again or ever.

Have you ever experienced not being able to pay the light bill or not being able to buy groceries or not being able to do the simple necessities of survival? This is a real life experience for a lot of people every day of their lives but there are some people in our society that have never had this experience and they think that their life is what you call normal. There are those that were not born with these simple privileges, opportunities to have choices when the going gets rough or other resources to turn to. However, poverty does serve a purpose in our economical caste system because without it there wouldn’t be something to push others towards never having the experience. Within our society there doesn’t exist an understanding that even though you may be born into poverty there is a opportunity to rise up and out of it however, there will probably always be a fear that lurks in the background to haunt you of returning some day to the meek beginnings. This fear causes one to constantly be on guard that nothing will take them down. To some this fear looks like tenacity, never giving up and always bouncing back. It also drives some to look like workaholics, when really it is a mechanism of hope that somehow you will get ahead and have a cushion for the rainy days that no doubt could be lurking around the corner.

The experience of poverty can leave one thinking that they will never be totally absent of it, no matter how their outward appearance seems. It leaves a stain on one’s soul and causes them to question why some have the experience while others never even brush it. Witnessing this stain first hand can make one sensitive to the appearance of it in others even when it is well hidden. The elephant standing in the room becomes very obvious when one has recognized it even within themselves.  The embarrassment, the shamefulness, the denial that you could be viewed less if someone knew your truth. Within a society whereby ones worth is decided by the zip code of your family it causes divisions to just be acceptable in certain circles of association. These kind of divisions take a toll on our society at large because it promotes the idea of separatism to get ahead. 

It is time to take a bigger view at what poverty really does to families, communities and our society at large. When we can do this then we can talk openly about what it will take to advance and elevate all of our communities. When we can have conversations that will be productive towards understanding the deeper divisions that come from lack of opportunities and missed ones due to inequalities, we can move toward a more just and productive society. The real question is when will the “Haves” be willing to share something with the “Have Nots” in order to balance out the playing field. This is the conversation that pains people the most because they feel like everything that they have attained was from their own efforts, when in reality how we start out is based upon the families that we came through and the experiences of where they came from and what their families came through. When we trace history as far back as we can find it, we will discover that everybody has played a part towards someone else’s richness or poverty, therefore we owe it to one another to recognize that there is an inequality. What we do with what we discover in our lives and families will determine our true happiness, since happiness comes from within. We always have to be true to ourselves first and then we can move forward. May we all have a conversation with ourselves this holiday season and remember the reason for the Season. May the Elephant in the room be made visible with no shame and may all of your hearts be healed.