Rich in Spirit

[McCamy Taylor]

Today, rather than writing about poverty, I want to talk about wealth. Not the kind of wealth you can stick a dollar sign before. That’s just stuff. You can get stuff by making it. You can get stuff by inheriting it. And, all too often in the United States, folks get stuff by stealing it from other people.

The kind of wealth I am talking about can not be made, inherited or stolen. It is a way of life that has very little to do with material success and a whole lot to do with how we handle misfortune.

Today, I met a 30 year old woman whose husband is in the ICU. He does construction work, and he fell off the roof and hit his head. He has been unconscious for three weeks. Doctors do not know if he will ever wake up. The woman has two school age kids, and she works in a warehouse that does not have air conditioning, despite her diabetes and other medical problems. With her husband in the hospital, she is now the sole bread winner. Every day, she gets the kids ready for school and then she goes to work and then she comes home and feeds the kids and then she goes to the hospital to wait and pray. Her life is hard, but it is her life, her family, and she treasures it.

Today, I met a 60 year old man who is almost crippled from arthritis. He is so happy that he may have found a desk job that he can do. There is no way that he can go back to the grueling manual labor he used to do before. Every weekend, he travels to see his father who recently had a heart attack. The drive is hard on his knees and back, but he would not dream of abandoning the dad who raised him. He is so grateful that his father survived and is slowly getting better. His life is hard, but it is his life, his family, and he treasures it.

The 30 year old wife and mother’s picture will never grace the cover of a fashion magazine. Paris Hilton is 30. She is rich in stuff. When she drove drunk (yet again) and got sent to jail for a few weeks, she pitched a temper tantrum on national television.

The 60 year old man will never run for president. Donald Trump is 65. He is rich in stuff (when he isn’t broke). When he started talking about running for president, he got wall to wall media coverage---because, hey, he has spent his whole life in the pursuit of material wealth.

Sometimes, I wonder why spiritual richness counts for so little in this country while material wealth is so god awful important. Where is the MTV coverage of the 30 year old woman? Why hasn’t A&E documented the life of the 60 year old man? The people who hoard oil in tankers in order to make the price of gasoline rise are not the heroes. The heroes are the ones who fill up their tanks, despite the high cost, and make that long drive every weekend to see dad. The people who sell us bundled mortgages while betting on the side that the mortgages will fail are not heroes. The heroes are the ones who build our houses. And yet, our government rewards the oil price gougers with tax breaks and the banksters with bailouts---almost as if throwing more money at those who have material wealth will ease their spiritual poverty. But tell me----

Have you ever seen an oilman or a banker man get down on his knees and thank God and the American people for his tax breaks or his bailout? So, why do we keep throwing good money after bad, when there are so many people who could do so much more with it?

[sabrina 1]

1. We are not a wise people

I think that is why we value the wrong things. But that doesn't mean there are not wise people in our society. I often read the words of people from simpler times and other cultures because they were wise and knew what was really valuable. Still, they may have been only a minority in their time and cultures.

[Mimosa]

2. McCamy, thank you for sharing during these hard times.

Thank you for keeping us informed. Thank you for not giving up. I know the stress on you and other health care providers is increasing. But we need your input. Your patients and friends at D.U. are a liitle bit stronger and consoled because you care.

Anything WE can do FOR YOU? I know how hard it can be to be the person sick people rely upon. I always try to let the doctors and nurse practitioners know we appreciate what you do. *HUG*

[zewaterwhite]

3. Treasure ,Treasure.

No matter poor or rich ,let's do our best to treat our life and others.
For we don't know how long we will stay with together and the past time never comes back.

[annabanana]

4. Welcome to Du

:hi:

[ironrooster]

5. i suspect that you know why we don't see this kind of hero in the national media

and that is because it would empower them. we wouldn't want that - it could be disruptive. it's preferable that they think of themselves
as either (1) powerless, i.e., "invisible" or (2) rugged individualists, i.e., "would be overseers" within the framing
of the master class.

liked your piece - but the word "hero" is overused. It was at one time a reserved word that was qualified by certain acts of bravery.
There really aren't that many heroes out there - it's a conceit of our culture to think as much. What we really lack is
common decency. Decency depends on deference to a society's mores. If society does not exist as Margaret Thatcher has said, then
there is no inducement for decency. Lack of decency lead to increased contempt and distance from the other.

[JDPriestly]

6. Beautiful, thoughtful post. Sorry that I got to it too late to recommend it.

This deserves to be read by everyone on DU.

This is the truth.