Supporting Social Justice

So far this semester we have looked at various aspects of society.  One issue in particular is poverty, which we talked at great lengths about what it meant to be impoverished and if it was something individuals could escape.  After having that conversation I began to ponder how we could even start to fix such a problem.  It is important to realize there is no easy solution, but merely a series of smaller efforts we can make towards a greater good.

I returned to my hometown of Carbondale, Kansas last weekend to visit family and friends and began a conversation with my Pastor at church.  One of his first jobs preaching took place in Newell, SD, I small community just northeast of Spearfish, SD.  We spoke about poverty and what it was like there.  He impressed upon me that most of us will never truly understand the poverty until we are surrounded by it.  But more interesting was the idea of how people there can find support.  Surprisingly, it has nothing to do with government, but everything to do with caring individuals and organizations within the community that have the means to help.  Several churches in the area have come together, with support of resteraunts, grocery stores, and other similar establishments, to allow those who need the help, at least a little assistance.  Granted, the churches can't support everyone to eat and buy clothes all the time, but it keeps them from going hungry at least a couple times.

So my conclusion comes down to a mixture of government incentives and private sector help.  We can't rely on the government to provide the means to help impoverished areas because, quite frankly, the government has no idea what is really going on in these areas and how to best support it.  We must rely on those in these areas to provide the help.  But most people will not provide this if it is too much a burden, financially or a matter of convenience, to them.  So to encourage people to help I believe the government should provide some kind of incentive, be it tax breaks or a liaison to provide minimal government assistance like food stamps.  These individuals, for example, could take these food stamps to provide food to supply help houses or local families.

There are many other ways this can be done, but it has become obvious, that as great as our country is, we need to become more involved in it.  We can't rely on elected officials to always know what is best.  We MUST take responsiblity and ownership in our country.