Poverty: A Real Eye-Opener
It is
amazing to reflect on the amount of information we have been exposed to in the
last few weeks. Some of the information is undoubtedly lost while other topics randomly
appear in my minds-eye and fill my fleeting thoughts. It is amongst these
fleeting thoughts that I based my final blog choice on. I chose to discuss
poverty. Based on the assignment guidelines, I am supposed to discuss an issue
and share what I learned and how it opened my eyes to thinking differently.
It is not
that I learned about the existence of poverty, we all go about our lives
knowing about it; yet often stop short at really knowing what it means.
According to
dictionary.com, poverty means:
1. The state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or
means of support; condition of being poor. Synonyms: privation,
neediness, destitution, indigence, pauperism, penury. Antonyms: riches,
wealth, plenty.
2. Deficiency of
necessary or desirable ingredients, qualities, etc.: poverty of the soil. Synonyms:
thinness, poorness, insufficiency.
3. Scantiness;
insufficiency: Their efforts to stamp out disease were hampered by a poverty
of medical supplies. Synonyms: meagerness, inadequacy,
sparseness, shortage, paucity, dearth. Antonyms: abundance,
surfeit, sufficiency, bounty, glut.
Looking at these
definitions I can see clearer, the error of my ways. Before this class I often
equated poverty as a form of lacking, as the above definitions state, but I also
considered poverty to be a personal problem, consequences of poor choices, and
inadequate planning. How naïve and insensitive to give such little thought to
it other than it is something that exists, that happens, and that it originates
at the individual level.
I learned that it is
much bigger than I originally thought. It is not just a label given to people
who are poor. Instead, it is a tangible position in a socially constructed,
position we have created in our stratified society that categorizes people in
different groups like the poor.
I have to admit that
before this class I did not even know what the actual poverty line amount was.
When you hear about the homeless shelters on the news, or see people pan-handling
on a street corner, I have jumped to conclusions that it is within their reach
to do something about their situation. This is where the biggest eye-opener for
me came. Learning in the numerous examples of how our social institutions play
a role in the persistence of poverty in America. It is clear that I have succumbed
to the ideology of competitive individualism.
Coincidentally, the day
after I read this chapter, I found myself in a passionate political debate with
a friend about welfare, the poor, and how it is affecting our economy, and who
is to blame. He ranted about how the poor people are the problem with our
economy and how they are just sitting on their butts with their hands out, etc.
He even indicated (like I have in the past) that if they would only work
harder, the benefits would pay off and then they would not be poor! I told him that we had to table this
discussion until I could bring my sociology book over to show him what I have
now been exposed to. I think that the most moving facts for me in changing what
I believe about poverty are the degree to which the gap in household incomes
between the rich and the poor is increasing to alarming degrees. It was
shocking to know just how richer the rich are getting compared to the other
four income classes. To be able to share this information and show how everything
intersects and influences one another felt right, rather than spewing worthless
rhetoric like so many others. Pointing out how the rising housing prices and
rising rent does not stop just because minimum wage did not follow suit. Getting
him to understand that examples like these are not just an individual problem
was a challenge. Therefore, I continued to explain how there is not enough
affordable housing and that this problem is created (and can be remedied) by
our social institutions who do play a major role in poverty. At the very least
this gave my very “Republican” friend a new perspective as well.
This debate ended up
being very reaffirming of the lessons learned (thankfully) that social
constructs like the beliefs about the poor and the causes of poverty can be
changed. It is frustrating to know that these individual changes of constructs
can influence the higher up social institutions to work on their end, on down,
as well as on our end, on up, but it seems as though our government leans
toward the belief that poverty serves as a purpose in our social institutions,
based on their lack of success in eliminating poverty in today’s reality. Cumulatively,
it is imperative that this become a problem of the past!
According to Newman
(2012) it is the lack of knowledge, the belief in the fallacy that “if you work
hard, you will succeed,” and not understanding how the imbalances in income and
wealth play a role in poverty that keeps this viscous cycle going in excessive
and increasing speeds. This should not be the case in a developed country like
the United States.
I think that the reason
this is meaningful for me to know that I am willing to admit when I am wrong
and gratefully I now have a deeper understanding to the causes and the enormity
of this poverty problem in America. I can now be on the side of being a part of
the solution rather than being a part of the problem. I want a better America,
as well as world for us all to live in.
Lastly, the other thing
that I learned about is the “poverty line” challenge. Not only do I tell
everybody I know about it, but I challenge them to take it. At the very least
this will bring awareness and keep the conversation going rather than one
person walking around in year 2013 clueless and oblivious to this problem that
is a travesty in a great nation like our own and the uncomfortable conversation
needs to continue until there is no more poverty!
“Live below the Line” challenge today!" You
can go to this link to register https://www.livebelowtheline.com/ and/or
view the following video to learn more.
References
Newman, D. (2012). Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of
Everyday Life: 9th Edition SAGE Publications.
The section about poverty has been sticking with me as well. It's neat to see how you've been processing the various facts and statistics from the text and that you have had conversations with others about them.
ReplyDeleteWhen you first wrote about the "Live Below the Line" challenge, I checked out the website and have since told a few people about it. It seems like a great way to raise awareness about the reality of poverty.
It's hard to believe J-Term has almost come to an end! I've really enjoyed following your blog and reading your posts over the past couple of weeks, and I thank you for all of your thoughtful insights about the material we've been working with!
N
I'm truly enjoying the design and layout of your website. It's a very
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often. Did you hire out a designer to create your theme?
Fantastic work!
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