Believe it or not, sometimes I have my moments when I step outside of my own little life and think about other people not in my immediate family or circle of friends. No, really.
So, I've been thinking about ways I can be useful. It's hard to figure out where to start. People everywhere live shit lives, much of it part of a system of government that doesn't work for them, socio-economic challenges, cultural norms, scarcity of food and other issues. What I have trouble understanding, though, is that as Americans, we feel it's obvious that these issues prevent people (women, minorities, people of other religious backgrounds) from receiving things as simple and basic as food and shelter. But a lot of us look at those as problems that only affect other countries, like we've got it all taken care of at home. As though democracy and capitalism are great bastions of government and commerce that fix everything.
But what about here? There's only so much you can do by "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps" if no one gives a rat's ass that you've got three jobs but
still struggle to feed your children or yourself. Or that a lot of people are one illness away from bankruptcy and that several generations of your family have lived in poverty, so that's just what you've come to expect of yourself and your kids.
You get used to living in the world and breathing side by side with other people and pretending that, well, if you have enough, surely everyone else does, too. And if they don't, they just aren't doing it right, aren't working hard enough. But how do you fix that?
I can give people money. I'm not rich, but I have a small amount to spare. I can give time, but what does that mean? I'm constantly running like a chicken with my head cut off to manage my own life and my kids', but it's not so bad I couldn't coordinate helping in a soup kitchen, local food pantry or even a health clinic. But that solves only an immediate need. In many situations, it doesn't even satisfy someone's needs for a full day.
So is legislation the answer? The client of our current government blows goats as far as doing really anything about anything. But legislation is what I know. It's what I do every day - disagree with what the government tells us to do in proposed law, try to get them to change it, then operationalize what our government finalizes. Is there an opportunity to help that way? It's definitely worth the research to find out.
