We were walking along side the road after we had gotten off the bus: My friend was directing us on our way back to my apartment after a day spent at our field placement. We were talking about being poor. At one point in the conversation she voiced that she thought the way to cure poverty was to make it so everyone could have more money. However, I gently told her that I didn't think this was true. For example, I explained that there were even homeless people living in the United States even right in the nations capitol (of all places!). She was astonished to hear this.
This just told me how much she idolized the west. We were the wealthy rich white people, the people of the perfect white Christian Nation the land filled with milk and honey.. How could we possibly have people who do not have homes living in our nation???
It got me thinking about the image of the U.S. We often don't display these images to the world. We don't have Indian or African photographers taking pictures of our homeless or starving children and setting up homeless organizations in the U.S. Nor do we have people adopting poor white american children out of the U.S. so they can take them home to a better life. The U.S. has managed to maintain, at least to some and to the extent that I understand, a sparkling, clean, flashy, rich, aura that fails to show our own material poverty to those who idolize us.
I understand that in comparison to other nations we are rich. I realize that our poor or homeless may still be better off than the average poor or homeless person in India. I understand this, but this idea of homelessness and poverty is not one country's problem it is a universal problem.
If we were truly a Christian nation (which in my opinion we never were), wouldn't we allow others to see where are incomplete the most? Where we also struggle to help the least of these?
We have an image of having it all together when as a nation we really don't.
What has gone wrong?
On another note, people often refer to India and think of India as a place where there is material poverty-- yes it is true. But in India, I was also introduced to the idea of social or relational poverty. This is where one might have all the material gain but have poverty of the soul- where all the riches of the world could still not buy them the good relationships that human beings also need as relational beings.
I would say, that not only do we have material poverty, but we may also have greater relational poverty in the U.S. Despite all our money, we are no more of an example of how to live in love towards one another than our brothers and sisters in India.
Those are my thoughts for tonight... feel free to comment if you feel so inclined. :)
