Working so hard

I just finished reading a good book- "Nickel and Dimed" by Barbara Ehrenreich. She's a writer that takes an assignment to work menial jobs. It's not a perfect 'study', but it's an interesting perspective. It's an "outsider" perspective, which is how I feel out here.

I wanted to share one of the last paragraphs of the book with you, I loved it...

The welfare poor were excoriated for thier laziness, their persistence in reproducing in unfavorable circumstances, their presumed addictions, and above all their "dependency." Here they were, content to live off "government handouts" instead "self-sufficiency", like everyone else, through a job... What are we to do and feel?... Isn't guilt what we're supposed to feel? But guilt doesn't go anywhere near far enough; the appropriate emotion is shame- shame at our own dependency, in this case, on the underpaid labor of others. When someone works for less pay than she can live on- when, for example, she goes hungry so that you can eat more cheaply and conveniently- then she has made a great sacrifice for you, she has made you a gift of some part of her abilities, her health, and her life. The "working poor," as they are approvingly termed, are in fact the major philanthropists of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect; they endure privation sot that inflation will be low and stock prices high. To be a member of the working poor is to be anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor, to everyone else. As Gail, one of my restaurant coworkers put it, "you give and you give."

Ok, I do want to offer some hope, as cynicism is a luxury for the well off. We don't live in a world where if you work hard enough you WILL be successful, but it isn't always a dog eat dog world out there either. People do care, people do change their lives, but we need each other. We can be part of the solution. I'm getting interested in wealth distribution. Ok, don't freak out... but I do think too few people make too much money. Something is wrong with that picture. Something is wrong when I have more stuff than I need and others don't have enough to eat. I will go back to Tim Keller's idea of "Justice Living": basically, we shouldn't be a burden to others in our giving, but we should feel the burden of giving. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say "be like me" or that I am living like this now, as I'm not at the point of figuring it out, but I'm excited about new ideas and hopeful about the future.

Optimism is looking outside and saying "It looks wonderful!" no matter what. Hope is looking outside and saying "It looks like crap out there, but let's enjoy it while we can". While pessimism is looking the wrong way down a one street, so try to look both ways, ok?

[yes, that's a Gwen Stefani song quote in the title, I recognize this and apologize... but it fit]