Is Poverty A Choice?

First:
Mankind will generally agree that there should not be suffering, and as a general rule when we have the ability to remove suffering we should. But looking at United States alone, how can we solve a problem when culturally, educationally, idealistically, we are all at fault for the poor? As of now, when discussions of solving the inequities of the current U.S. distribution of wealth come into fruition, there is polarization on almost every point. We all agree that the poor shouldn't be as poor as they are, but when it comes time to find a solution we can't seem to have consensus. This is because we all have different reasons why we think poverty exists. There is consensus that the bottom shouldn't suffer, but it doesn't look like we want to give up our slice of the pie. 

Our school's teachers, who on a general rule fall to the left on our political scale, are part of and support a union who has fought in support of raises and benefits for its teachers for years. Now one would think that if their political affiliation and their beliefs were true and prudent, they would use their collective not only for themselves but for the injustices that break the families living in homeless shelters across the nation. Utilizing their power and influence in this city not for higher wages and more benefits but for the betterment of the people who their elected politicians say they will help but never really do. But like their political counterparts they are greedy with their time and money. They are self Righteous. 

The men who sit in the brokers chairs up in the towers that face to the northeast of my school claim that they have the solution. They know that the market will take care of all. They trust in the market that is feeding their children steak and parsley. Probably never having even dealt with poverty, you know charity-diners don't usually look as good if people who don't have the glitz come. They have no understanding or regard for those who to them are money wasting burdens who could be working. Like their political counterparts they WANT TO SOLVE THE ISSUE but seem to do nothing.

Now in the ghetto to the west of my school, there are many types of people. There are those that choose to be poor, doing drugs and wasting their time and money seeing no future for themselves. There are those who are trying their damnedest to get the hell out. There are those who are fine scraping by. All of them are living a life that is not even comparably as comfortable the two examples above, but they all seem to have something in common; they act for themselves.

See this is the problem we have everywhere, it's only that the debate over poverty brings it to light; WE ARE SELFISH, NOT SELFLESS. 

MY SELFLESS AND FLAWLESS ANTIDOTE:

I'm am going not going to be the guy that complains and then gives no solution.

Is it society's fault or the individual's?

It is both. We are not perfect. And for Christ's sake of course society is not. We need to support those who are unable to support themselves. The mentally ill, the disabled, impoverished mothers, but we also need to acknowledge that Welfare is corrupting and is not necessary in many cases. Welfare should continue to supplement the employment of those who are employed. Employment is the key to moving out of poverty. Employment utilizes and rewards dedication, timeliness, responsibility, all qualities that much of the ghetto and the underclass need to learn. Unemployment needs to be way shorter to actually create some incentive to work, and if one does not find a job, they can  work for the government at a newly implemented organization which works on all of the factions of American infrastructure. Now we're paying for your ass and getting some work out of it! There are obviously flaws to this plan. Number One being there's a lot of stuff left out, but it illustrates a point. The difference between my plan and many others that I hear is that my plan has ideas that come from both sides. Sure it's biased. I'm human. But it is also open. I listen to everyone's ideas when they speak. I may argue, but I understand that there is no greater validity to my ideas than theirs. I have learned a lot from other people: self-righteous, well read, informed, not one care in the world; if you cast away the shackles of thinking your right, you might actually learn.

XoXo

Let Love Reign On You, 

You American Cowboys.

Malcolm X Transformation

We had discussed in class the necessity of Mr.X to become educated. We were fifty or so pages in the book, but the problem was apparent; this man had anger that was unbridled and spiteful. We came to agreement that education would benefit Malcolm X. Naively we laid out the correct path for Malcolm X to take on his journey to leadership. Now, having read a much greater portion of the book, I see that Malcolm X has done what we wanted him to. This is not a coincidence, it is the acknowledgement by both parties, our class and Malcolm X, that he needed to become as educated as his mind would let him. We both understood the capabilities of his mind. We both understood his limitations. 

In prison he reforms. His case should be one of celebration for the penitentiary system, introducing him to a new lifestyle, one which would be culturally considered a vast improvement. He begins his route en becoming an educated man. As Artem Potemkin writes "He got mad at himself for being so inadequate that he could not write a cohesive letter in reply to Elijah Muhammad", but this fury is greater than being unable to respond well to a letter. It is what both my class and Malcolm realized, turning us both to frustration; he is smart and just has made the wrong choices. The Nation of Islam, manifests as a solution and goal for Malcolm. Providing him initially with small goals like becoming literate to the point of writing a legible letter and living a lifestyle which is conducive to learning, The Nation quickly spackles the holes which lead to Mr. X's less than fulfilling existence. 


This explains his dedication and complete worship of Mr. Muhammad and The Nation. Together, they acted as a savior to Malcolm in what looks to be like historical-perfect timing. In prison he studies, more aggressively than one would consider "studious", copying the whole dictionary. This is insanity, but it makes sense. X is transforming, he is breaking down the shackles of years of wasted time and life. He has the determination that can only come from complete worship, which seems to happen often after a complete crumbling of one's previous lifestyle; Malcolm finally being arrested after running in fear of being caught for years. Always fear. Always death. Throughout the book he continues to evolve as a man and leader, learning, making other transformations, but arguably this is the most important. He completely changes himself, washing and erasing away habits that take people decades to destroy. He takes the initial leap that will ultimately bring him from black man to black leader. 

Is King Still King?


Yes and No. It's seems that all men of historical significance seem to loose their potency over time. It is not as if the citizens of today have lost the ability to understand what these men and their actions represented, but we can no longer relate to the very specifics of what they did. Martin Luther King Jr has entered into this place in popular culture; a figure and martyr for a time period in American History, who has come to represent an ideal instead of his own history. Today his exact actions represent much less than they did in 1960's racial torn America. With segregation no longer having a physical manifestation such as two public restrooms for each race, much of what he fought for has been won. His words specificity do not have the relatablility they may have once had. 
There exists an appreciation for the in depth and learned history of great leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. who's life is full of events, times, details, which need to be studied to build a comprehensive and enlightened understanding. None the less, this is an appreciation, rather, an affection for history, and fewer people belong to this club. 
For the rest of mankind this lack of specificity has transcended Martin Luther King, like the men who study history, to a new club. As with many other men and women of history, the trivialities of time and location come to represent a much grander concept. To most people today Martin Luther King Jr. embodies the protest of continuing racial inequalities in the United States. Furthermore, globally he has come to be an icon for the brotherhood of all men existing as equals.
His name and image if not charging us with the vitality and confidence necessary to overcome the continuing injustices of man, represent at least a reminder that there comes a time when humans reexamine what is righteous and just. They protest. They fight with everything they have. These are a time for brotherhood. His being, even if only in pictures, text, and recordings continues to give inspiration for a better nation, world, and self. King Is Still King, and will be as long as we remind ourselves of those who represent the good in mankind.