It’s easy to look down on those less fortunate. If they are poor they must be lazy or deficient in some way.
I’m living a comfortable life now, but it wasn’t always that way. America has some big holes in its social safety net. Prepping was always a thing I did and it got me through a couple of bad years. However, the bad years kept coming. Year three was tough. Year four was impossible.
My wife and three kids were living with the knowledge we two weeks away from being homeless. Then I won a four year legal battle and received enough back pay to bring everything up to date.
It affected my kids. They’ve gone on to live successful lives. They’ve also never forgotten when times were so tight we didn’t through out potato peels. They have compassion for people in tough situations. They’ve started programs for the homeless in their community, taken in political refugees, and hired poor immigrants.
Being in tough straits with kids to feed is a real test. During that time I found myself with $3000 cash accidentally given to me instead of someone else. I could have kept it but made sure it ended up in the right hands. Another time a bank sent me all the credit card details of over a dozen people. There was everything needed to run charges on other people’s cards. Instead of doing that I informed the bank of their error -and fried up those potato peels.
Frankly, it was a near thing -not to make my life more comfortable, but for the kids. I understand the tough decisions people on the bottom have to make.
-Sixbears
Doing the right thing is often fraught with what if's and what abouts.
ReplyDeleteI've survived on leftover potatoes I was allowed to dig up from a neighbor's garden.
Might be why I still work and donate to the food bank.
– Robert Heinlein “Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.
Honor could easily replace duty here. Your duty to show your children the right way to live is very honorable.
Would you feel forgiving if someone "On the bottom" acquired your credit card or stole your identity to make ends meet?
Good question.
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