The divide of rich and poor is ever widening in America, creating more and more imbalance. If this divide would become too great, it could threaten to tear up the whole fabric of society itself.
Last Sunday's "Star Tribune" featured several stories and ads that illustrate the extreme divide between levels of wealth and poverty on this planet. For example, one story featured the incredible and horrifying story of several young men in Haiti who, for $112 per month, dive into the fetid muck of cholera and garbage infested waters, in a futile attempt to clean the canalization by hand.
"The job pays $112 a month, and the men are thankful for it, even though they say they can go weeks without getting paid. Unemployment is so crushing that for some, it is the first steady work they have ever had. (...) Garbage and filth overflow here, spilling from trash bins left unemptied for months and littering tent camps for earthquake refugees. When the rains come, as they did after Hurricane Tomas on November 5, the backed-up waterways spread over any vacant patch, creating an ideal home for cholera. Children splash and defecate in the water, people use it to rinse dishes and wash clothes, and some even consume it. (...) In a matter of weeks, the disease has killed more than 1,100 people and hospitalized around 17,000 with cholera-like symptoms. (...) There is no sewage plant in Haiti; some hotels and private homes have their own septic systems, and entrepeneurs scour the city cleaning latrines, often dumping the waste in the most convenient canal or drainage ditch. Even the work of cleaning the canals is a testament to teh extreme difficulties of preventing cholera in a country where infrastructure was minimal long before the earthquake and where sanitation crews descend into the muck with hardly any tools, much less gloves or suits to protect them." (Quoted from article by Randal Archibold, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Sunday November 21)
On the same page, in what could be called a stunning display of insensitivity, is a huge ad for a new Cadillac lease: "Open up a Cadillac this Holiday Season" - only $349 per month for qualifying customers.
Wow. Talk about contrasts. Now, who is grateful for what this holiday season?
Another article headlined "From American Dream to Down to Nothing" tells the story of a former Nursing Home Executive making $100,000 a year, then losing her job, and living with her daughter now on $11,000 in unemployment benefits. After 20 months of not being able to find a job, her savings are gone and she makes ends meet with unemployment benefits and selling home cooked dinners for $10 a piece.
"Her American Dream has taken a punch to the gut. 'I never thought I'd be in a situation like this. My friends say to me: Listen to the Lord, Chris. I say, No, I have to have a paycheck. '(...)(Her) wishes were clear and direct. 'To have grace and mercy. To have finances in order. To have a job."
(Quoted from an article by Wil Haygood, Star Tribune, Sunday November 21, 2010)
The official line of poverty is set at $21,756 for a family of four in America. From my own experience living here, I would say that even one single person cannot "make" it at $21,000. Statistics say that in 2009, income dropped 4.4 % among black households, and about 1.5 % for whites. (In reality, I would say incomes have been stagnant or dropping for the last 20 years at least!) Still, there are unemployment benefits - and all of this is still a far cry from the experience of those men in Haiti.
Another story, headlined "Flair Rankles Chile's Elite", features Mining executive Leonardo Farkas Klein, who lives the extremes of luxury to the same degree as the men in Haiti are experiencing the extremes of poverty:
"With his custom-designed Zegna suits, pink tie with matching Brioni handkerchief and colored diamond cufflinks (...) Farkas is an original in this conservative South American country. He made millions of dollars as an entertainer in Las Vegas and on cruise ships, married well and then returned to his native Chile five years ago to try his hand in the profession his late father loved: mining. Since then, the former piano bar singer has become a national sensation in Chile, but less so for his mines than for his eccentric personality, wild parties and seeming heart of gold. He has become Chile's most prominent philantropist, contributing millions of dollars to help needy Chileans. (...) Farkas boast of having five Hummers, a private jet, a Caribbean island getaway, a wristwatch designed for him by Cartier at the request of Prince Albert of Monaco, even a Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead he paid $2.2 million for (...). He paid more than $400,000 to be the first South American to travel into space as part of Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic tour next May. (...)
'My father always said, money comes and goes', Farkas said. 'That's why he said, Always enjoy life. Eat in the best restaurants, have the best clothes.' A passionate music fan, Farkas' father started his son on the piano at 2 years old. At 15, Leonardo put together a group of 15 musicians who played weddings and toured in Argentina, Brazil, and Peru. Just before he turned 21, he moved to the United States, where he performed in the Catskills and Miami, playing in small clubs, and then on cruise ships. He was frugal back then, depositing much of his earnings in his mother's Miami account so he could not spend it. By 24, he had made his first million dollars, he said. (...)
(Quoted from an article by Alexei Barrionuevo, Star Tribune, Sunday November 21, 2010)
Wow! What a story. And this guy is not just "living it", apparently he is also known for his generosity: "He now supports 16 orphanages for young girls. He makes donations out of pocket without seeking a tax break (...) and is known for handing out 5,000 peso bills (about $10) to strangers on the street and for tipping exorbitant amounts in restaurants. (He) gained international fame by helping the (trapped) miners families with donations of $10,000 each - even before rescuers pulled the men to the surface more than two months after the cave-in."
The men in Haiti are grateful for an erratic pay of $112 a month, the former Nursing Home Executive is surviving on $11,000 a year in unemployment benefits, and this gentleman of the Chilean Elite gives away the same amount 'just like that' to a mining family in need. Where do all these extreme differences come from? What creates our experience and station in life? What part does destiny (or "karma") play and what part does ingenuity, determination, and creativity play? The very idea of the American Dream is that with the right attitude, hard work and determination, anyone can make it from the proverbial dishwasher to a millionaire. Needless to say, we all know that the times for this 'dream' in America are long over. But has it ever been true? Are there particular areas in the world, where, at times, the societal structure allows this dream to be achieved more easily than elsewhere in the world? What can the workers in Haiti hope for? By all likelihood of their circumstances, they will be dead before they are able to create anything further out of their lifetime. For now, they are grateful to have any job at all.
And what, in contrast, are we grateful for? Most anyone reading this, would be, like myself, somewhere in the middle of all these examples, and probably still making far more than the $11,000 the lady who is on unemployment. Would we still be grateful if thrown into a situation like the Haitian workers? And what would we be grateful for if in a position of the wealthy Elite, like Leonardo Farkas?
My own gratitude always mingles with an uneasy mix of determination, inspiration, and fear. The above stories illustrate nicely that is NOT just one's discipline and creativity that determines survival or even thriving. I have many dreams and goals I go about achieving, and yet stories of extreme poverty like the ones experienced in Haiti, leave me wondering how I ever even deserved all the riches I do have in my life. How come I grew up without knowing hunger or war, received an excellent education, the gift of health, the luxury of being a professional in Ballet, and making my living working constantly on the sheer refinement of mind and body? How come I have the luxury, time, and ability, to even write this article? Compared to the glaring poverty, disease, and illiteracy billions of people are mired in on this planet, I myself can count myself among the so-called "Elite". And what exactly do I do to pass on the gifts I do have, so as to make a difference in this world?
I don't really have answers to these questions. I hope I can one day make more of a difference. For the time being, I have to admit I focus on the other end of the equation: on improving my own life, on "getting ahead", so I can afford things such as retirement savings, health insurance, travel to Europe once a year, continuing education, and yes, some shopping too! Does that make me ungrateful? I don't know. But I do believe one has to take care that the 'bases' are covered in one's own life, so we are as independent and self-sufficient as possible. After all, only when we truly can help ourselves (and our families), can we really reach out to help others.
