As I wrote in my essay on why school supplies matter, the video we watched in class brought to mind a certain sad truth that many recognize but fail to acknowledge. We recite and find pride in the idea that we live in "the land of opportunity" but we are not born equal in any sense. We see people struggling at food bank and like to think it's their fault because they didn't seize this opportunity we all speak of. We pass these people and ease the guilt of not giving by thinking that they must not have worked hard enough. What I'm realizing increasingly is that these people were most likely born into unfortunate circumstances that didn't allow them to hold a career for one reason or another.
I'm one of those folks that often subconsciously blames it on getting a poor education. I used to think that the rich were all well-educated businessmen, doctors, and lawyers. Now I see that it's people that were given fortunate circumstances and opportunities that others have to work so hard for. People born into wealthy families, people with talents, people with the means or training to get a well-paying job.The 12 million unemployed people in our country all have a story and a reason they are in their position. Sometimes it's being born into it or getting injured or being mentally ill.
My experiences with mental illness have led me to have a lot of compassion for people that others see on the streets and dismiss as the "crazy" homeless. One day I started to wonder what came first? The insanity or the homelessness? I thought about this for a long time and realized that it really didn't matter in the end. In the end, they're a person in need of help. I was that person for some time. Embarrassing as it is, I learned that there was so much help out there to be found. I have such compassion now for that crazy dude wandering down the street as well as the person who stops to help.
Financial aid is supposed to be a way to give opportunity to the underprivileged. Financial aid is difficult to get if you're working hard and making a living for yourself. I'm not "poor enough" because my parents make "too much money". They claim me because my mother works almost minimum wage and they struggle. This would seem fair but on the contrary, I give my parents far more money than they give me, whether it be in utilities, rent, gas, food, or anything of the sort. So the system is favoring those without jobs with little money. How could the system favor those born into poorer families when the rich seem to have all the economical and political power? This is where I feel stuck in a rut because I'm not rich nor poor enough.
