POVERTY-POOR PEOPLE-WORKING POOR-WELFARE

15 October 2008

POVERTY: Tool of Oppression, Fruit of Dispassion

I am joining today with bloggers throughout the United States and around the world to address the issue of Poverty. This coordinated day of blog-posting is sponsored by Blogger's Unite.

Poverty-the idea of it, the concept and understanding of it, is generally thought to be rather straightforward and obvious. But I believe that poverty is multi-dimensional and much more complicated. I am quite certain that many people will devote more than enough space exploring economic inequities, the evils of capitalism, and a plethora of perfectly valid causes and reasons for poverty. Some people will attempt to demonstrate the correctness of their argument mathematically with numbers and statistics. These are all acceptable.

I will pursue a different tack. I have concluded that discussions and arguments such as those just noted are exactly what the purveyors of poverty wish us to focus on. They are a diversion and address only the symptoms and evidence that the condition of poverty exists. That is, they only prove the reality of poverty.

Observation and experience have led me to conclude something different. Poverty is not a product of nature. Poverty is an exclusive product created by some human beings to subjugate and oppress other human beings. Poverty is a human-made artificial construct, a tool or machine that enables a wealthy elite minority faction to exert control and maintain their position of power over average and common citizens.Poverty is manufactured from cupidity, rapine, and creed.

Cupidity is the unrestrained greed, especially for wealth or money. Rapine is unrestrained plundering of rights and property. Creed, that is to say religious orthodoxy, whether it is Christianity, Islam, Judaism or any religion is the fundamental means of subjugation. All religious orthodoxy is predicated on submission. Submission to a higher power. Religious orthodoxy provides the shackles and chains used by the elite ruling class that creates and institutes systems of government.

Religious dogma, doctrine and creed always serves in conjunction with the wealthiest and most powerful interests, regardless of the culture or society, to protect and perpetuate the Status Quo. Religious dogma, doctrine and creed are the lowest common denominator among people and are the most effective shortest route to controlling the greatest number. Both government and religion need and use poverty. In other words, poverty is a beneficial and necessary tool employed by government and religious authority. Poverty enhances the power of government.

Poverty breeds hopelessness, despair, and cruelty. Poverty is demoralizing, emotionally debilitating, and physically abusive. Poverty fosters fear, anger and division. Poverty denies liberty and demands subservience. Poverty is the betrayal of humanity. Poverty is the animalistic and savage expression of the powerful over the weak, the large over the small. Poverty is the opposite of equality.

There are many actions we can all take to combat poverty. There are various organizations we can support and contribute to that work tirelessly to alleviate poverty. There are lots of things we should do regarding the real and corrosive condition of poverty. In the end, however, I believe that absolutely equal status, privileges, and rights for EVERY citizen will prove to be the most natural and effective means to eliminate the circumstances that give rise to and perpetuate poverty.

Therefore, to bring an end to the substantive experience, the ongoing and excruciating human suffering of poverty we, the people, must rise up, exercise the full amount of our power, and demand that all government protect people before profit and property, before position and power. We must cause a shift of power that removes bad and corrupt government. And without compromise we, the governed, the source of all power, must exorcise and prohibit the entanglement of religion and government to institute new systems of government that treat all citizens, all people everywhere, with absolutely equal status, privileges, and rights. This is a government of Humanistic Equalism.

Next time I will examine Race and the issue of difference and how Humanistic Equalism: Philosophy for Ethical Government offers a viable and practicable solution. Until then, Give Peace a chance.

James B. Tinsley, B.A.