Part 1 of this series suggested that we need
take a step backwards if we really want to understand how to tackle the problem
of poverty. We must understand the nature of poverty and how language and its
hidden rules are really a consequence of our social station.
A Step Backwards
You may be thinking, wow! This is a really
big, uphill task to turn people’s thinking around; or this is all
psycho-babble, or liberal thinking. But I urge you to continue to suspend
judgment and let’s put these ideas about cognitive strategies aside for a while
and go back to talking about poverty and language.
The Nature of Poverty
-Poverty is relative
When we think about poverty we must keep in
mind some key points. First, poverty is relative. If everyone around me in in
the same impoverished circumstances, the notion of poverty becomes vague. I
remember my father who grew up in a poor white family in North Georgia once
said, “I never knew I was poor until someone told me.” Poverty and wealth only
exist in relationship to known quantities.
If we all sit in our pews, think and do
the same thing, we may be blind to our own spiritual poverty that is so evident
to others looking in.
-Poverty is pervasive
Poverty exists in every country and part of
every society. Middle class is a 20th/21st Century idea.
Poverty is subject to definition and circumstance. There is no clear-cut line
between poverty and not-poverty. We define poverty in the USA as a
household of four whose annual income is less than about $22,500. In
Chattanooga, that is about 25% of the households (nationally it is about 13%).
The economic structure of our society reveals the dimension of spiritual poverty. The economic structure is severely distorted and tilted in favor of the wealthy yet the spiritual structure is similarly distorted and tilted in the opposite direction. For example, 20% of the households in the USA earn more than $100,000. A pastor in town who has a congregation of about 100 actively participating members takes a salary of over $100,000. Does the spiritual problem lie with the pastor or the congregation, or both?
Economic poverty is caused primarily by interrelated
factors such as parental employment status, earnings, family structure and
parental education. The poverty rate in the USA is about 200-300% higher than
in other major, Western industrialized nations.
-Generational and situational poverty
Generational poverty is defined as living in
poverty for at least two generations. Situational poverty defined by shorter
time and peculiar circumstances. They are different animals.
Hidden Rules
Recall the opening discussion of language.
Closely connected to language are the hidden rules that shape the way we deal
with life. Every person brings hidden rules of the “class” in which
the person was raised. This is not a political statement. It is a simple
reality.
Regardless of educational achievement and
social standing, the rules of interpersonal action, the way we think and our
cognitive strategies that we learned as a youth remain in the person.
This is a
key point in working with people who seek to leave poverty: the rules, the
language of interpersonal activity and cognitive strategies that we learned
socially as we grow up do not go away.
Schools and businesses operate from
"middle-class" norms and "middle class" hidden rules. These
rules and norms are not taught directly in school or business; yet for a person
to be successful they must understand and use these rules. The are
implicitly embedded in our day-to-day existence. They are inculcated by
culture.
Furthermore, because hidden rules are learned socially, we cannot hold it
against someone (or excuse someone) in school or business that they have not
learned the rules of our social station. (We will see in the next section that
there is a hidden rule, "you have to give something up to get
something. This means to leave poverty, or to advance to a "higher"
status, one must give up some preexisting rules and learn some new ones, a
challenging task.)
Education and Relationships
We learn much of the rules, language and
cognitive strategies through our relationships. Thus there are two critically
important things necessary to move from poverty to middle class, or middle
class to wealthy.
The person needs education to learn the rules,
language and cognitive strategies, and in almost every case, must give up a relationship at least temporarily if not permanently for achievement.
Education may or may not consist of academic scholarship.
Two things help a person move out of poverty:
education and positive relationships. This is where the power of our congregations comes
to play.
The Four Motivators for Leaving Poverty
There are four motivators for which a person
will leave poverty:
1. It is too painful to stay, or
2. The person has a vision or goal, or
3. There is a key positive relationship, or
4. The person has a special talent or skill.
Remember these four motivators, especially 1 and 3.
Some Definitions
Let’s define poverty as “the extent to which
an individual does without resources.” Resources are defined as:
1. Financial – Having the
money to purchase goods and services. (An external need)
2. Emotional – Being able to
choose and control emotional responses, especially in negative situations
without engaging in self-destructive behavior, marked by stamina, perseverance
and choices. (An internal need)
3. Mental – Having the mental
abilities and acquired cognitive skills to negotiate ordinary, daily life. (An
internal need)
4. Spiritual – Believing in a
divine purpose and guidance. (An internal need)
5. Physical – Having good
health and mobility. (An external need)
6. Support Systems – Having
friends, family and other backup resources to rely upon in times of need or
crisis. (An external need)
7. Relationships/role Models –
Having access to adult(s) who are appropriate, nurturing and do not engage in
self-destructive behavior. (An external need)
8. Knowledge of hidden Rules –
Knowing the unspoken cues and habits of a group.
Considering these resources, you can
appreciate that poverty is a complex situation that involves internal and
external circumstances as well as social relationships. Imagine working with
someone who can attest only to having items 4 and 7. Perhaps the most
important of these resources are relationships (item 7). We preach this in our
congregations, remember the song, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”?
Many psychologists who study learning
conclude that no significant learning can occur without a significant
relationship. (p. 9 of Payne's book)
More on Hidden Rules – Examples
Earlier we read that without knowledge of the
hidden rules a person is helpless in a new social context.
Consider these observations:
1. For many
people living in poverty, jail is a normal part of their lives.
2. If they are in generational poverty there is
almost always a social alienation and a distrust of organized society that
exhibits its wealth but unwillingness to help impoverished persons.
3. The line between legal and illegal can become
very thin and easily crossed. A person may spend considerable time in jail
because they do not have the resources to avoid crossing the line.
Unless we follow the movie stars and public
figures, we who live in middle class and wealthy classes seldom appreciate
that we also cross those lines, but we spend far less, or no time in jail
because we usually have the resources and relationships to avoid jail.
For an impoverished person, the local jail
may not only be a way of life, it may be a haven for food and safety compared
to the street or state penal institutions.
A person will spend all their money to get
their loved one out of jail because in generational poverty, relationships are
far more important than money. This leads us to the rules on the use of money.
Rule: The use of money – the support system
For a person living in poverty, money is
shared. A hidden rule in poverty is: if you have money, you share it
because when circumstances are reversed, you will need to rely on someone who
has money.
This sharing is a core hidden support system.
If there is extra money, spend it on entertainment and
relationships because emergencies and needs always arise, and you rely on someone coming up with the money for the emergencies.
This is the hidden rule of the support system.
Gangs exhibit the role of violence as a support system in poverty. People in poverty need defenders, or ability to defend
themselves. Violence can become a means even to self-identity and self-esteem.
In middle
class, we use space and separation to avoid violence. For example, we move to the suburbs to
separate ourselves from threat of urban violence.
For people in poverty
separation is not an option, only physical defense is.
People in poverty due to distrust seldom call
police when faced with violence or crime - the police might be looking for them
for some reason. I have observed this personally in my work. A person
will suffer the consequence of crime rather than call the police.
Rule: Penance and forgiveness – food is love
The mother is always the power in
generational poverty. She dispenses penance and forgiveness. The typical
behavior for a mother is to chastise the child verbally, or physically beat them
for misbehavior, then feed them because a hidden rule of poverty is: food is
equated with love.
All you have are people
and to show love, you feed them. (Is this lesson of Jesus feeding the 5,000 lost on
you?) But you must do more than physically feed them, you must spiritually feed them. To spiritually feed them you must have spirit to share.
However, even this already seemingly
distorted (to a middle class person) system of penance and forgiveness is
becoming more grossly distorted. A growing number of children are living
with grandparents or aunts and uncles as a result of divorce (or jail)
disrupting an already damaged family structure. The absence of emotional
resources of the family almost guarantees a slide into poverty.
All you have to fight the
battle against poverty are relationships with good people.
To make inroads against poverty requires
activism. But it is not the kind of activism we often associate with the protest against social injustice.
It isn't street theater where we march in protest
against perceived or real social ills fomented or suborned by
government. (There are times when protest is demanded, but those battles ought to be chosen with care lest the public become inured to our voice.)
It is the kind of activism that truly makes a difference in the world is the activism that radical
Christianity inspires. It is the act of one person to forming a relationship
with someone in need.
In the next post we will explore exactly why relationships are so important to helping the person who has acknowledged one
or all of the four motivators to leave poverty.
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