LONELINESS

me the story of a little dead girl who lived

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Equality...


These are the houses I see when I drive down "skidrow" in Los Angeles. Actually, this is some of the finest of the finest in this district, most of the time you see cardboard boxes shaped like tiny tents on these streets. The reason I am talking so highly about these houses is because I just want to prove a point that in America many Americans believe that we all have the same opportunities.

Yes , I agree many in many countries have opportunities but not so great as the USA... (insert silly face here). I am not saying that we do not have opportunities and that we can not take advantage of a system like we have here. That is not what my discourse is about. I am upset at the statement that we all have the "same" opportunities. I have to strongly disagree.

There are two extremes one that is born into wealth and one that is born into poverty. We then have the diminishing middle class. The middle class in my opinion have equal opportunities to get ahead. But the lower class is a cyclical beast that if we do not take care of it it will never get ahead. I am not saying that we need to assist those that are not willing to work for themselves, nor am I saying to take all away from the rich and give to the poor, though that thought has crossed my mind a couple times. I am just saying we are not equal and in order to create some equality we must first acknowledge that we do not have the same opportunities to get ahead.

Examples of this are those that are born with a silver spoon do not have the same opportunites as those that are born with plastic sporks. There are chances where the poor can get ahead with scholarships, financial aid, welfare programs, etc., but that does not mean that they don't have other challenges to get ahead in life. These life challenges are those that not even the government has been able to overcome. Gang violence, drug use, peer pressure, many siblings at one time, rape, the list goes on and on, but is a huge problem in our society especially in our ghettos.

Some of the challenges mentioned above are huge contributions to a cyclical life in poverty. Gang violence in societies affects those that don't even pertain to the gangs and at times can not be ignored not even gang association is ignored, by those around that are unfamiliar and even by the police that are set to patrol the ghettos. Drug use entrenches everyone in the family even those not involved, when people need a fix they are willing to do anything from stealing and even kill those that get in their way. Peer pressure to use drugs to associate with those that are in gangs to have the much needed protection, that you can not get from the police that even if you are not in a gang you still get profiled as pertaining to a gang. These are just some of the small challenges as some state.

Though in contrast people that live in quite wealthy societies do have other challenges such as... tanning problems not getting enough sun in the summer, having the employees ask for health coverage etc. I understand how these challenges create equal opportunities for most.

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