Povertizzle

Is poverty a choice? No, no one truly wants to live in poverty because they are lazy, they don't want to work, or they don't have qualifications to work.  This is not the case because anyone who is living in poverty because of laziness has something else wrong with their mind.  Something in their mind is telling them that this is the way that they deserve to live, the only real way for them.  Laziness is a disease, and it is developed.  It is developed usually by people telling them that they're not good enough or that they can't do any better with their life.  This is a problem and although it may seem as a choice, it's a unconscious trap.

Poverty is something no one ever wants to deal with.  It gives a feeling of helplessness, incompetence and dependence.  No luxuries are available, and psychologic illnesses develop easily while living in poverty.  When something tells you that you are not good enough, it hurts.  This is the indication that is put on those living in poverty in our modern day society, and I don't think it's fair.  Those living in poverty usually know no other way.  Either they themselves grew up poor, they have a mental/physical condition holding them back, or some other tragic event happened.  There is no generalization we can make about people in poverty because, like everything else, it depends on the person.  My uncle, for example, is living off of welfare because he's a war veteran and he knows that he will be getting more money with his benefits than if he was working.  Although many may see this as a choice, it's not really.  He is trapped by society.  He knows that he will not be able to get a better paying job than what he's getting from welfare, and as lazy as that might sound, it's also quite sad to me.  He has a pinched nerve in his neck from fighting in the war, and this has made him unqualified for many jobs that he would otherwise qualify for.  This was his choice to live off of what the government was offering this single veteran, but when the semantics are broken down, I do not view it as a real choice.

Of course one is going to chose the most beneficial option for them, why wouldn't they?  If options are weighed, and welfare pays more than the job at McDonalds, a mom who's trying to support her family is going to take up that option.  It's not like anyone strives to wait in the welfare office, feeling down about themselves and their situation, in order to get a slight welfare check.  No one wants to be deprived of their feeling of a contributing human being, and no one should have that feeling taken away from them.  This is why I fully support a working welfare system, where participants have to contribute what they can at that time to society.  For those that are mentally down, their work participation could be getting help from a provided therapist, because this will eventually lead to a much more positive person in society.  People living in poverty do not need anyone else looking down on them, I believe that they do that enough in the mirror.

People make mistakes, people make bad decisions.  We've all made them, so we should be able to all understand.  Compassion, although ideally limited, is necessary for a successful community.  One cannot expect all to have the opportunities that they have received  that's simply impossible.  Yes, hard work is probably one of the most important things we can establish in our lives, but not everyone is taught that and not everyone agrees.  Many people in the top 10% were handed their money or given ample opportunities for success, and those on welfare know that.  This leads to a bad view on society, and another reason that I don't believe living in poverty is ever a choice.  It may be a hope, or a given up hope, but people never really want to live at the bottom, and if they were offered a way out, I'm sure each one of them would take it.  So many factors contribute to poverty and people's choices, it's not fair to make any generalized statements about why people are living the life they are living.      

Integration

A personal philosophy of mine is that nothing that happens in life should be forced.  There is no point in stressing yourself out over an event that probably shouldn't even happen.  I believe that the universe holds a powerful energy, and the energy is within all of us, and leads us to where we're truly supposed to be.  This is why I agree with the Nation of Muslim's idea of no integration.  Of course, at this point in time, I'm am so thankful that America didn't see the same truth as I do in the idea, but I cannot fathom why anyone would want to be in a situation that they're not truly welcome in.  This just does not make sense to me.
Ever since white people entered America, they found a way to make people different from them feel lesser and helpless.  This is simply because these groups have not found it important (or possible) to stand up for themselves and their personal rights.  This was seen by the whites, and they took complete advantage of it.  They took the land, money, jobs, resources, everything.  This was completely unfair, but people being discriminated against should realize this and not stand for it anymore.  They tried marching, they tried speaking out against it, but nothing was truly working.  Because I am a person with short patience, I would have gotten out of that environment ASAP.  The blacks were being treated like shit! They had no rights to vote, be in the same vicinity as whites, they couldn't even ride the bus in the same way.  I personally would not have put up with that stuff and I would have left.
Integration, now that is has happened, is so amazing.  All of the different views we are exposed to everyday of our lives open us up to a new outlook, and a new way of life.  It allows us to know that there are others out there living in this same world, going through polar opposite experiences.  It allows us to appreciate other cultures, and it leaves less room for power trips based on false qualities.  Integration was definitely the move, but looking back on the times, when nobody really had any idea of what was going to happen in the future, I would have not supported it back then.  The minorities put up with too much for the diversification of our society today.