Poverty Good?

Alright, my title is not misleading. Poverty, in some views, is good. Without poverty, the world would be economically flat, and, in theory, culturally flat too. My thought is not relative to the economy, though in some ways I think its true. My worry is about the absence of culture.

The United States has set an extremely high standard of living that, in my studies, is desired by those of lower class. But think about it. When one country of not so high status becomes industrialized, their culture adapts to the new ways. In most cases, the culture is lost or forgotten. In this book I read for my sophmore English class, the name completely escapes me,we learned about this girl who grew up in a small part of Africa in poverty. As a girl she has no chance of ecoming educated, but when her brother dies she seizes the chance to take his place. The story is about her transition. The school she goes to, though African, is focused on highlighting the British life. She wants so much to be accepted in this new society and leave the life of poverty behind. Completely understandable. In the end, not to ruin the book, she chooses the British society over her own, but not for the right reasons. Originally she wanted to become educated to make a better life for her family, and yet her reasons became more selfish as the book went on.

The point of this was not to show that everyone wants to be part of the British society, although it is pretty awesome, the point was to show how the society was slowly being brought down by those who wanted to "civilize" those poor Africans. But what makes them poor? They don't fit the social standards of that time. There is no monetary system, no consistent food output or intake, no toiletry systems, or even running water and electricity...so what?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying let them all starve. That's cruel. I'm just saying that it is not that bad everywhere. Before the British started started colonizing the world with their flags (yes an Eddie Izzard pun), some places survived on their own. There may not have been sufficient food intake, compared to our standards, but there was enough to ensure that the civilizations survived thousands of years. Those cultures developed ways of living that, as "white civilized" people, we may not understand. They found ways to grow food, get water, wash clothes, and entertain themselves all on their own, without our help. What does it say about us? Those who want to colonize these "poor" people.

Perception. To them, we are, or were, the evil ones. We came in and told them how to live, and we are still doing it today. To us, they are the poor poverty stricken country who needs help. In some cases, I know its true. But in others, it is time to question the validity of our help. It makes some feel good inside. How many people have actually been to one of these countries? People who go to Jamaica, or any of the Caribbean islands (with exception to Cuba) note on how much poorer the people are, but also how HAPPY they are. The people have a better appreciation for life in general. They understand what it means to have a life, and they accept their part in the world. Some don't ofcourse, but what can you expect?

As part of my geography class, the countries we studied each had pictures with of middle class families standing outside their homes with all of their possessions. The United States family was from Texas, and their house was rather large and their possessions extensive. In front they put their bible, and their smiles were mediocre. Not entirely happy, just there. We soon studied the Dominican Republic. The family lived in a very tiny wooden hut, the possessions the least we would see all year, and the smiles were the largest. The family was very proud of what they had, even though they had so little compared to all the rest of the countries we studied.

Back to poverty today. In many ways it is bad. There is a chance of wiping out entire societies due to lack of food or disease, and we do hold the power to fix it. But history can repeat itself too. There will always be poverty to balance the world, because without it the world would be flat. I think that by protecting the cultures while trying to help is the best solution. Let them learn about the different diseases and new ways to grow food. We should teach them some, but only enough to save them, then let's step back and make sure they develop their own way of living based off of the new knowledge.