Blog Action Day!

WHAT DOES POVERTY LOOK LIKE?

My post for this year's Blog Action Day will be a short one. It's not that I don't want to give my best effort to this year's subject; I simply haven't had time to do the kind of research I was able to do for last year's Blog Action Day.

Please consider the fact that you and I, although irritated by the current economic situation in this country, will not go hungry at any time in the foreseeable future. My six year old child, who has the height of a seven year old and the weight of a five year old, is well-fed (although you might not know it by looking at him), well-educated and safe. We are not rich by any means. And while I often talk about having no money (and that means I literally have no money in my wallet), I try not to flippantly use the word "poor" when describing our financial state.

I'd like to think that our next president will turn his attention, at some point, to the needs of those who go hungry each night. I'd like to believe that the American people recognize that there are people in this country who have no bootstraps by which to pull themselves out of the caste into which they were born. Yes, I said caste. Think about it. Am I wrong?

Poverty, whether in the U.S. or in the Third World, is often a life sentence from which there is no parole. What's worse is the fact that it imprisons generation after generation of innocents. Children die because their parents are poor. Wars are fought because resources are scarce and need is high. Little is done because too few people care. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to find out how you can help at least one person living in poverty. (I support Kiva. You can find your own organization to support.)

In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of. ~Confucius