Why is it that we as a society seem to only celebrate an act of simple kindness when the object is dying? The rest of the time it is all about self-reliance and rugged individualism.* We are stronger together than we are apart people. Many of us are one paycheck away from disaster. We are all hostage to the whims of capricious fortune. Those that say otherwise are either the wealthy few or are simply whistling in the graveyard.
* self-reliance and rugged individualism are registered trademarks of Goldman Sachs and the Republican Party.
I don't think we can speak of society as a monolith. If we ever could, those days are now long gone. In general, poor people help other poor people, and unless one understands what Goldman-Sachs means in terms of business and having a job and money for your kid's food and clothing, they mean little or nothing to those on the street level. My neighbors live on cheap entertainment and skunkweed. They go to McD's, Denny's or Golden Corral, not Roadhouse. Dog stories connect us. The heads of Goldman-Sachs might as well be aliens.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm sure you are right. The poor are generally more inclined to charity. Still America has been smoking the Horatio Alger myth for a long time and we as a nation have long since robbed poverty of its dignity and all too often of late treat the poor with scorn and contempt.
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