Sunday Musings – February 4, 2024
I appreciate the frustration of the neighbor who recently wrote a letter to the editor of our local newspaper. It was entitled “Blind Compassion Lacks Compassion.” I especially appreciated this letter because I know the writer to be compassionate and generous. He is correct in pointing out that at every level of community - neighborhood, city, state and national - we need to do more to address the many factors which result in homelessness for so many in this country and the world. The world has millions of migrants and refugees in addition to citizens who are temporarily or permanently without a home.
The use of a generic term such as the homeless risks dehumanizing individuals and family. Our neighbors who are homeless include those who:
The point is that the homeless include many individuals and families. A one size fits all solution does not work. This is why we need a variety of solutions. We may also need to quit thinking that some of us are more deserving than others. If our profession pays enough for us to live decently; if we inherited money; if we had some money to invest and got lucky; if our business venture was the right one at the right time; or if for some other reasons we are financially, physically, and emotionally healthy enough to live in enclosed spaces such as a house or an apartment we are blessed. It is not because we are more deserving than our homeless neighbor. Although the common myth which might comfort us is that some of us have more because we worked harder, the truth is that many factors outside of one’s control affect one’s cognitive and physical functioning. Other chance circumstances affect the ability to be self-supporting; to pay mortgages, own and keep a vehicle running, or buy food and other necessities. A man I know had his car totaled the other day when another driver ran into him at a high rate of speed resulting in his concussion which required a brief hospitalization. This man has health insurance and an enough funds to ensure that he can continue to live his upper middle-class lifestyle. That is wonderful. He has been blessed with the ability to earn very decent money and to be physically and mentally able to not only earn money but to save and invest for this stage of his life. He did not order his brain and physical ability from Alexa or google. He was gifted with them. Those gifts also allowed him to be among those in the United States with health insurance. Additionally, he is blessed with supportive people and other benefits. Many others have fewer or more of these gifts. Many of us are among those who could quickly and easily, given the right set of circumstances or bad luck, find ourselves among the homeless.
The teacher Jesus said, “The poor will always be with you.” This wise man (ironically homeless) knew that we humans would never evolve enough to honor the sacredness of all and share resources equally. Perhaps he “knew” the gifts of many of us do not include the ability to function in a particular economy system. Yet we all have gifts to share which are equally valuable.
Ironically the more we honor our common sacredness the less we will need to spend on eventual consequences of nor taking care of each other; lower cost of health care, fewer collateral expenses such as replacing burnt bridges, lower police, and other first responder cost. Treating any one of us as less sacred - as if our gifts were less valuable - is economically, spiritually, environmentally, and emotionally costly.
Written February 4, 2024
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
Sunday Musings – February 4, 2024
I appreciate the frustration of the neighbor who recently wrote a letter to the editor of our local newspaper. It was entitled “Blind Compassion Lacks Compassion.” I especially appreciated this letter because I know the writer to be compassionate and generous. He is correct in pointing out that at every level of community - neighborhood, city, state and national - we need to do more to address the many factors which result in homelessness for so many in this country and the world. The world has millions of migrants and refugees in addition to citizens who are temporarily or permanently without a home.
The use of a generic term such as the homeless risks dehumanizing individuals and family. Our neighbors who are homeless include those who:
- Have temporarily fallen on hard times because of illness, death, loss of job or other situational factors.
- Are chronically mentally ill (addiction or some other mental illness) and not able to function on their own.
- Are ineligible for public housing because of legal records which may be related to addiction, other mental illness or some other brain dysfunction which may prevent them from having a shared reality.
- Are unable because of mental illness, past trauma, or some combination to function in a closed environment such as an apartment or a house and need to live somewhere outside or at best in a tent.
- Are among those who serve us at restaurants, stores, in fields or some other capacity to help ensure there are goods and services available. Although minimum wage has risen significantly even that amount of income will not support a family but may be too much to qualify for housing assistance.
- Are chronically unable to function in public housing and get kicked out.
- Are fleeing abuse, poverty, oppression, war, and other factors who leave them without a home in their home country.
- Are victims of fire, floor or other events which destroyed their home and may not have insurance which covers such events.
The point is that the homeless include many individuals and families. A one size fits all solution does not work. This is why we need a variety of solutions. We may also need to quit thinking that some of us are more deserving than others. If our profession pays enough for us to live decently; if we inherited money; if we had some money to invest and got lucky; if our business venture was the right one at the right time; or if for some other reasons we are financially, physically, and emotionally healthy enough to live in enclosed spaces such as a house or an apartment we are blessed. It is not because we are more deserving than our homeless neighbor. Although the common myth which might comfort us is that some of us have more because we worked harder, the truth is that many factors outside of one’s control affect one’s cognitive and physical functioning. Other chance circumstances affect the ability to be self-supporting; to pay mortgages, own and keep a vehicle running, or buy food and other necessities. A man I know had his car totaled the other day when another driver ran into him at a high rate of speed resulting in his concussion which required a brief hospitalization. This man has health insurance and an enough funds to ensure that he can continue to live his upper middle-class lifestyle. That is wonderful. He has been blessed with the ability to earn very decent money and to be physically and mentally able to not only earn money but to save and invest for this stage of his life. He did not order his brain and physical ability from Alexa or google. He was gifted with them. Those gifts also allowed him to be among those in the United States with health insurance. Additionally, he is blessed with supportive people and other benefits. Many others have fewer or more of these gifts. Many of us are among those who could quickly and easily, given the right set of circumstances or bad luck, find ourselves among the homeless.
The teacher Jesus said, “The poor will always be with you.” This wise man (ironically homeless) knew that we humans would never evolve enough to honor the sacredness of all and share resources equally. Perhaps he “knew” the gifts of many of us do not include the ability to function in a particular economy system. Yet we all have gifts to share which are equally valuable.
Ironically the more we honor our common sacredness the less we will need to spend on eventual consequences of nor taking care of each other; lower cost of health care, fewer collateral expenses such as replacing burnt bridges, lower police, and other first responder cost. Treating any one of us as less sacred - as if our gifts were less valuable - is economically, spiritually, environmentally, and emotionally costly.
Written February 4, 2024
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
RSS Feed