On Nov. 21, 1996, Joshua and I were born. That point, exactly, is where our lives steered in opposite directions. I came home to two parents, an abundance of food and a safe neighborhood, while he came home to abject poverty on 26th Street in one of Norfolk’s worst neighborhoods — with a loving mother, yes, but no father. Most people would probably agree eliminating poverty is a worthwhile objective in our economically unequal society. However, our conversations do not reflect this decency. Let’s change the current conversation surrounding poverty to one of dynamic rhetoric, moving away from the conduction of studies and analysis of statistics. A change in speech as well as policy surrounding poverty is our chance to eliminate the exhausted credo that hard work always leads to success, suggesting if the poor worked harder and pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps, they would have equal opportunity and a shot at greatness. Frankly, that is simply feel good nonsense.
As of 2015, 47.7 million Americans live in poverty — 21 percent of these Americans being children. While statistical efforts in media, speeches and studies to show the harsh reality of poverty helps bring attention to the issue, these efforts are simply not enough. In order for this issue to really resonate with people and keep it fresh in their minds, it is necessary to incorporate a conversation that breathes life into the subject. Mia Birdsong, in her TED Talk on poverty, invites us to “listen and look for true stories, more beautifully complex stories, about who marginalized people and families and communities are.” If we listen to the stories of the suffering, poverty becomes tangible. Not only is the current story we tell about poverty spotted with deceit. It is far removed from a level with which we can understand.
We have incredible programs in this country, such as UNICEF and Feeding America, that make a positive difference every day. Yet these programs do not attack the problem at its core. We are still failing to make personal connections with the members of our communities who have virtually nothing. Desmond Tutu, chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, encourages this deeper level of understanding and human connection, for an individual’s humanity, at its core, “is inextricably bound up, in yours; we belong to a bundle of life.” Pope Francis has enabled the impoverished to envision a glimpse of hope out of the twisted tale of fate that is poverty. With a revamping of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and strengthening of the Christian anti-poverty message, Pope Francis intends to create an environment that is “‘bruised, hurting and dirty’ from being in the streets serving the poor.” He reminds us we share the intangibles that connect all human beings alike.
While changing the conversation surrounding poverty will facilitate the shift toward a world without destitution, we need to pass laws to help the poor rather than just talking with them. The narrative is old and the goal is worthy; we need new fuel to keep this fight going. President Barack Obama has made progress in the effort to eradicate poverty with the implementation of programs such as The American Recovery Reinvestment Act, which assists in the fight against hunger and for income support. This program helps get food on the table, yes, but may not provide a lasting impact. In that regard, we need to create more jobs with livable wages. Marianne Page, deputy director of the Center for Poverty Research, explored the debated relationship between employment and poverty, finding that we need to move away from this policy of “more jobs” and create “a package of more targeted policies” in order to see a reducing effect. She proposes a three-pronged package to attack poverty at its core: policies that “promote wage growth within the low-skill sector,” incorporate a “strong unemployment insurance system” and continue to use nutrition assistance and non-cash safety-net programs.
Poverty has a name, and that name is Joshua. He found friends in gangs and guns, while I found mine in books and sports. Now that he is locked away in a high-security prison for armed robbery, it seems as though our lives take paths going in opposite directions, once again. Maybe if more people had listened to his story, he could be a normal college student, not another statistic in the news. Yes, maybe poverty will always linger in the shadows, but we need to know it lives next door so we can start the conversation and implement adequate solutions.
Lucy Siegel is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at l.siegel@cavalierdaily.com.
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