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Poverty is the worst form of violence.
~ Mahatma Ghandi
I had experience the homeless and panhandlers in Chicago and Washington D.C., but other than a subdued visual notion, I had never been approached in Kokomo by those asking for money. On my way walking downtown to do yet another interview for a story in this paper, I came across a man who begged me for two dollars and insisted it wasn’t for liquor and that he was homeless. I could only provide a dollar in quarters (for I rarely carry cash on me), but I was willing to give it none the less. Even if he had said he was going to use the money for alcohol or even drugs, I would still have given it to him as there is a bigger problem at work than any of the man’s potential habits. The Jews had practiced in ancient times, anonymous donations, where the donor would not know to whom the money went or for what reason. Too often we try to judge those we give to and arbitrate our giving by such judgments.
Later on the same day, I was approached by another man in downtown Kokomo, who rode up to me on a bicycle and told his story of being fired from his job before even thinking of asking for money. It isn’t until you’re shaking hands with a man who felt he had to show you the calluses on his hands to prove that he was, “a working man” who had just fallen on hard times, it doesn’t become apparent how shameful and ignored the poor of this nation are.
It’s hard to ignore a problem when you are covered with body odor from a man not having a shower to clean themselves in that is so strong it has affected your scent by just by being near them or if you still have the soot from their calloused hands on yours.
When I stood there shaking that man’s hand and after regretfully showing him my own empty wallet, it became cemented in my mind the truth of this country’s dire economic situation. While Wall Street continues to show record booms and experts reject the use of the word “recession,” you come to see face to face how much narrower the gap between the middle class and the poor has become and how much wider it is getting from the upper classes. America is most certainly a regional and regimented country, differing from place to place heavily, so what effects one part is different from another in terms of demographics, economics, and many other conditions, but none of this can rectify personal experience in your home town.
I do not fear nor am ashamed for those who are homeless or below the poverty line; I recognize a common humanity and even worse: a potential future for myself and America. The old saying goes: “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he’ll never go hungry,” and while I’m not any good at fishing, I still have to wonder, is this really true in America anymore? How many educated individuals actually have skills in their area of expertise, but they simply have no jobs because industries that need those skills have moved away?
Are we really in control any more? How many of us run a business, have a steady job, feel they live on an adequate salary, feel rested and content about their economic condition at work or even at home?
Jesus Christ knew that one cannot solve the crisis of poverty alone as he says in Mark 14, “the poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want,” and we will never see the end of the poorest class, but we can affect its numbers greatly through political and economic policy as a Nation.
Is our need for specialties to match a growing rate of technology outpacing our individual and generational ability to learn new crafts? Will the young constantly replace the old until they themselves are old and once again outstripped of their professions? How much does a corporate policy of outsourcing affect our living conditions and status as a Nation?
Likely we are at the beginning of a fulcrum for America, a point at which we must either change our methods, learn to compete globally while focusing locally through sustainable economic policies, or watch as regions of our country become zones of poverty severe in comparison to so-called “Third World,” nations. Already we see the consequences on places such as New Orleans. With numerous layoffs happening, even locally, we can feel its effects. Many of us, including myself, have family members, friends, or loved ones who’ve lost their jobs, many who worked at a career for many years, only to be cut off before retirement. Are we to believe that these businesses who proclaim record profits on Wall Street are really so strapped for money that they must prevent having to pay out retirement packages for their aging workers and instead abruptly terminate their careers?
I don’t have any definite answers, I’m just tired of shaking hands with homeless men, I’d rather shake hands with them when they’ve had enough to eat and can go to a place they call home and sleep in comfort.
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