Jokes aside

When are we going to take poverty seriously in our country? The statistics are appalling. Have you ever been to our poor communities? Whether urban or rural, there is a lack of hope. The question which starts early and grows within a young mind, “what is the point?” This lingering question, if unanswered drains the child of purpose. Hopelessness is a parasite, it devours the life of the host and spreads faster than policy can be created. Poverty is the oldest institution within the United States. It seems as if we have embraced the destitute as a natural byproduct of our free market. We treat the poor as an unfortunate but ultimately unavoidable reality of our economic system. This type of thinking is exactly the type of thinking which focuses resources on palliative care rather than a systemic restructuring. As long as we have organizations and programs dedicated to poverty relief, we passively agree to keep poverty in our society. When are we going to get serious?

Have you ever been to your cities public housing? Have you ever walked around the cracked sidewalks? Have you seen the dirt plots? Have you seen bare clotheslines and cheap plastic toys left out as if the owners were raptured? Have you ever seen a man with sunken eyes and skin that hangs loose from his skeletal frame? Children are the ones who must make sense of this world. These children grow up having to reconcile the constant dichotomy of their existence. On one hand they are in one of the safest nations in the world, but they must sleep on the floor to avoid the possibility of bullets in their bedroom. They are bombarded with propaganda at school which tells them they can be whatever they want. Then they get off the bus from school and are solicited by gangs to join or face violence. Do you know how much they run? Not as a game, but to preserve their bodies. These children are not safe. Yet, we pretend as if it is not they are. I teach students who have already been shot. I teach students who are almost seemingly devoid of empathy, out of necessity, to remain sane in a violent and apathetic world. Our children are disillusioned with the American system because they are the discarded. They know if they do not take responsibility for their safety and wellbeing, no one else will. When are we going to get serious?

Rural poverty is simply a different accent of the same language. Social mobility is a fable. They have three legal options: keep doing what your parents have done for generations, work 30 years to secure a middle management position from a service sector job, or find any number of odd jobs to make ends ad infinitum. These options barely require a high-school diploma. Why invest in education when you’ve watched your future in your parents? Leaving is an option but what about the people you know will stay? Do you give them up in order to succeed, especially when family is the backbone of the community? Children should not have to choose between their family or the possibility of a more fulfilling existence. The options are not good enough. When are we going to get serious?

This is a snapshot. This is a cry for decency, an appeal to those in power, change this system! Measures that alleviate poverty but are not working towards eliminating poverty are wasted efforts. We need to be the role models our children deserve.