We are told that there is no shame in being poor, but in reality, that is situation dependent. In other words, when you live in a very poor country and are basically surrounded by fellow poor people, then there truly is no shame in being poor, because just about everyone else is also poor, and further to the point, those that are in communities of impoverishment, typically work together in order to sustain and uphold themselves from an even worse fate. However, when you are poor in the richest nation that the world has ever known, and of which, each day you are inundated with all sorts of social media posts, advertisements, and entertainment videos, that constantly celebrates the material success of other people or its accouterments, thereof; then being poor, is really a rather difficult lot to bear.
So then, while there are plenty of people that talk about how the poor in America, have so much more than what the middle class had back in the day – what they are really talking about are material things such as cell phones, televisions, ready wear clothing, indoor plumbing, the internet, refrigerators, and other items that simply didn’t exist back in that day and age—of which, if they had so existed for a given individual, back then, this would have marked that person as being very successful, indeed. In point of fact, the poor often feel miserable and disadvantaged, not because they have absolutely nothing, but because what they so have, basically represents the bottom of the barrel in the hierarchy of the United States; and further to the point, because each of us is also prone to comparing ourselves to one another, this thereby becomes an almost unbearable discomfort to them. Additionally, those that are poor in America, often are poor, from day one, in which, because they lack the necessary ingredients for success, such as a stable home life, a good education, healthy outlets for their youthful energy, as well as gainful opportunity, are pretty much consigned then to a substandard life, especially in comparison to what so many others have, in this the land of plenty.
Because America loves to toot its horn about how great that America is, we do so find that for those that have not experienced that greatness, whatsoever, that being a poor American is a rather bitter pill to swallow; for though other peoples in other nations, are cognizant that not everyone in America is a material success, they still do typically believe that America is that golden land of opportunity, and have thus bought into the belief that hard work in America will bring success. Rather, it would be more honest to state, that hard work will bring success, but not necessarily to that person so working hard, because America doesn’t believe in paying a living wage, nor in having a good public educational system for all, nor in affordable healthcare for all, nor in safe communities for all, nor in justice or equality for all. Instead, America believes it needs the poor, for deliberate exploitation purposes, so that the privileged can live better, at the poor people’s expense.