The True Heroes of our Time

Those who suffer in chronic poverty may seem to be solely responsible for their plight, but that is no more an honest statement than to say every woman who is raped "asked for it". There are some who chose to live in a state of abject poverty because of poor decisions made by themselves or ancestors. Others are thrust into that state because of circumstances over which they had little control. Still others are poor due to the general environment around them (i.e. inner city) or the lack of any way to prosper due to overall conditions surrounding them.

It is grossly unfair to label all those barely making enough to make ends meet as "lazy" or "munches" or any of the other terms bantered about by people who simply do not want to get involved with finding solutions. It is far easier to simply blame the person for the predicament they are in than to look for solutions to help them find a way out.

Politicians are always touting some new program that is supposedly going to eliminate poverty. This is certainly a brilliant way to gather votes among the poor, if nothing else. Starting with various programs instituted during the Great Depression and continuing through the Great Society; the federal government as attempted to solve the poverty problem through playing "Robin Hood". Take from the rich and give to the poor always sounds reasonable and noble, but rarely works in application.

Socialism by its very design is built upon the idea of "redistributing wealth". If those who have too much, in the eyes of the government, are taxed far more than those who have little; somehow this creates "fairness". What it does create is resentment and anger among those who make the most, and that which is collected from them ends up being squandered by selfish politicians who see a chance to bring home more and more pork to their districts.

By robbing from the wealthy through higher and higher taxes, under the pretense of redistributing this wealth to the poor; the government is trying to dictate to individual people how much money they should be allowed to make. Government's role is not supposed to be that of almighty judge and guardian of all. Government is to provide basic services for one and all; provide for a military to protect the country from enemies and pretty much stay out of people's lives.

When government attempts to solve the poverty problem it can be pretty well assumed that it will only make matters worse; and it has done just that. Jesus Christ himself said "the poor you will always have with you", and we will. There have been poor people around as long as there have been people. There have also been wealthy people around either taking advantage of the poor or helping them. The idea that the government is supposed to "eliminate poverty" through some program is utter foolishness. If a government could do such a thing, the Roman Empire should have succeeded if not other powerful dominions.

In a Theocracy, such as Old Testament Israel or Judah; the government and the religious sector were one and the same. Is such cases the role of the government is entirely different than when there is the strict separation of church and state such as in the United States. When a king, such as Solomon had the ability to both dictate as governing official as well as draw upon the resources of the vast number of religious citizens; he could do incredible things to confront the poverty issue. We do not live in a situation even remotely similar to King Solomon's.

Just as today, there were corrupt kings and other governmental officials mentioned in the Bible. These evil men would constantly oppress and fraudulently steal from the lowest members of society. If a person happened to come upon a few coins; someone from the government would be there immediately to demand payment for some obscure imaginary tax or debt from the ancient past. There was no way for the poor to ever get out of their state due to the corruption of governmental officials. Some things never change.

Even today, when someone who has lived their whole life below the poverty line obtains an inheritance or is given a large amount of money; by the time taxes are paid, they are still poor. Of all the evil schemes ever invented by greedy men who have no heart and compassion whatsoever; the IRS tops the list. Nothing is more grossly unfair to especially the working poor than the IRS code. Not just Federal withholding, but special taxes such as inheritance and other "one time" taxes. Any politician advocating the elimination of the current IRS tax code would win my vote any day of the week.

The burden of caring for those who have "fallen on hard times", been devastated by a disaster or disease, have lost everything they owned to a crook or thief, been victimized by governmental policies or other administrative snafus; should fall on first the family, second the church, third the community and finally the government. Do you know what? This is exactly the way it worked until everything changed during the Great Depression.

My mom grew up in true abject poverty. Her entire family was "dirt poor". This included parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents and cousins. Her mother grew up in a large family with little way to provide for themselves. What is interesting is that as tough as times were, it was accepted and "lived with" and no one yelled and screamed for the government to bail everyone out. The vast majority of people were either poor or very poor. As the saying goes; "misery loves company", and back in the old days there was plenty of company to go around.

Because everyone was so poor, they took care of each other. When disaster struck, everyone pitched in and helped either a devastated family or even a community get back on their feet. Families took care of themselves as much as they could, and when they couldn't, the church and neighbors stepped in to help. Only as a last resort did any government agency get involved. Perhaps people need to read or watch again the "Little House on the Prairie" series. Times were different back in those days.

The human spirit is amazingly resilient. Humans learn quickly how to adjust to their surroundings. If in a cave, the body quickly adjusts to the cool temperature so it can live longer. If mentally challenged by stress and pressure; the mind naturally blows off steam so it doesn't go into overload shock mode. During major wars, humans are able to live in impossible circumstances normally never encountered. After a huge disaster, humans band together naturally and help each other (except in New Orleans). Humans are not as fragile as they think they are.

No one wants to live without air conditioning in the summer. But, not that many years ago, EVERYONE did just that; for it had not been invented yet. No one likes washing dishes or clothes by hand; but not too many years ago, EVERYONE had to do it that way since automatic washers had not been invented yet. No one likes having to send a letter through the Postal Service anymore. But, only thirty years ago EVERYONE had to send everything through the mail, for computers and e-mail had not been mass produced and distributed yet.

A person now who has no air conditioner, no automatic washer and no computer would be considered very poor. The same person 100 years ago could have had a million dollars in the bank and been looked up to as one of the wealthiest people in town, yet still not have any of those items. Poverty is in the eyes of the beholder and the criteria for defining it changes with each new generation.

It is very interesting to note that the two groups of people who do not seem to object to "doing without" are newlyweds and the elderly. Everyone in between wants what they want when they want it, and they will go however far in debt they must go to get it. The stubborn refusal to live within one's means has bred a nation of people who appear to be "well off", but in reality, are far poorer than those who have learned to "do without" and still be happy.

As the current financial situation spirals downhill in this country, more and more of those who have hidden behind their paper wealth and used plastic to make ends meet will fall into a state of poverty. There will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth as those who refused to learn how to "make do" with a 24" regular television will have their 82" plasma television hauled off to pay debts. There will be howling and crying as people who defiantly refused to live within their means and drive a late model Chevrolet, watch as their Hummers are towed away due to not making payments.

There is a whole new class of poor people getting ready to appear in America. They are not those who live in inner cities or in the mountains of West Virginia. They are the millions who live in suburbs all across America whose houses, vehicles and "toys" are being taken from them due to their inability to make all the payments needed to keep them. Suddenly homeless, without a vehicle and living out of suitcases and boxes; these newly crowned "poor people" will struggle to find help and someone to care for them the same way their Great Grandparents had to.

Ironically, many of the new "poor" are the very same people who scolded the "old poor" for being lazy and just wanting handouts. These newly impoverished people are the same ones who took pride in NOT helping the disadvantaged, the homeless or the unemployed. "Let them help themselves" used to be their mantra, but now that the shoe is on the other foot; they will cry out for someone to help them. Arrogant fools are the worst kind of fools on earth. But, arrogant fools are the first ones to be proven foolish and suffer the consequences of their foolishness.

No government hand out program will be big enough to help all the people getting ready to need assistance. No one group will be able to handle all the needs that will soon arise in this country. It will take a cooperative effort between families, churches, neighbors, communities and various levels of government to keep this country from settling into a state of riotous hell when the millions of "whiners" suddenly can't even find a bed to sleep on or a meal to eat.

This is the very reason I wholeheartedly support the efforts of those serving their communities through outreach programs. Whether providing meals or transportation or free medical clinics or job training or counseling or prayer; these not for profit groups are an invaluable asset to our communities and are worthy of our support, prayer and help.

Never forget those who labor in the shadows helping those lost in the night to find their way home again. Never forget those who serve without pay and give of their lives daily to love their neighbors as themselves. Never forget those who devote all they have or ever hope to have in this life to the betterment of people they do not even know. Never forget those who are on the front lines of compassion, who share their very lives fully with strangers and vagabonds. These are the true heroes of our time and will be even greater heroes in the days ahead. Please never forget them, support them and pray for them.