Covid Divide

Tonight, I wanted to write about the gap that as really been brought, once again, to the forefront of our country. In the last six to eight weeks, our country went from low unemployment and a “booming” economy to high unemployment numbers and a struggling economy. I put the word booming in quotation marks since there are now questions as to how strong it was – I am not an economist, so I cannot answer that question.

I wanted to put out there about how over the last month or so, we really get an idea as to the divide between those struggling and those who do not. I know that this divide is far from new. It has been a struggle in society since the start of civilization over 6000 years ago. The poor of society are mentioned time and time again in the Bible. Jesus even calls out, “You will always have the poor among you…” (John 12:8 NIV). So why does this stick out for me now, and we do I hesitate to write about this divide.

During this time, there are so many families who are struggling. Men and women from all walks of life woke up a few weeks ago ready to go to work only to find a country shutting down. Jobs started disappearing overnight. Companies started closing doors. Employees and employer went from having a paycheck to having nothing in a matter of a few weeks. Parents, even if they could go out and find a new job, found themselves unable to since children were now also having to stay home. There was no school, no childcare, and no babysitters. Everyone was supposed to limit contact outside of the household. Savings accounts, if there were any, started to dwindle so that bills could be paid, food could be purchased, and mortgages or rents were taken care of to keep a roof over the family.

School children even showed up within the divide. School districts sent out surveys to determine just how much work could continue through the use of technology. Instead, they found out just how many families had no means to work in this new manner. Packets had to be created and distributed, and students had to work at home through new work with little or no contact with teachers. Other children, while having their own struggles, found that they could meet with teachers and peers, learn new material, and attempt to continue their studies due to having the means at home.

Add to all this the fact that schools became a source of food for many families. Lunchrooms started churning out meals and putting them into brown sacks for families to do a drive-by pick up. While some families had to wait until toilet paper, cleaning products, and meat became available – but had ample had home, others had to use the school system or food banks just to get by.

This is 2020. While a situation like Covid-19 will cause hardships for many people, the hardships should be short lived. The problem is, for many who are struggle right now, the struggle was there before this pandemic and it will continue long after.

I started off saying how I wanted to write about this, but there is a fear to writing about such a topic because people will immediately make it a political argument. Instead of taking time to look at the problems, people will want to blame the other side for the divide. To make matters worse, I am breaking my own rule that I had for my students. If you bring a problem, try to bring some suggestions for the solution. Unfortunately, I do not have those answers or suggestions. I am not versed enough in how to resolve the issues of helping some while not punishing others. I cannot solve this problem. My hopes are that by enough people discussing the problems, the people who do have the knowledge will guide this country into resolving it.

I know that there will always be levels to wealth. There is no way that every person can be on a level playing field when it comes to this area. We will always the two ends of the spectrum and every level in-between. I guess what I am trying to figure out is if the end of the spectrum representing poverty needs to be so big and if those living there need to suffer so much.

I worried about this topic because I do not want to see arguments stating that it is the fault of those who struggle. They didn’t study hard enough. They do not spend their money wisely. They should have chosen better jobs. They should have gone to college. They should have…

Yes. I have met some people who made bad choices with their lives and money. However, I believe the percentage of those people are minimal when compared to all of those who struggle. The people who struggle find their struggles come from many factors outside of their control – their race, ethnicity, gender, where they were born (even inside the U.S.), looks, and other factors, or combination, can have an effect on how well a person does in this country. I have seen the hardest working people sweat day and night to try to get ahead and still only just manage to keep it together one month at a time. I have seen all the different positive sayings about what success is. Yet never, have I seen one that says, “Sometimes success is just being born in the right place, at the right time.” Sometimes, a person who has any or many of the above factors listed above can success and climb the ladder, but that is one while many are still at the bottom of the ladder.

I have also seen the arguments on the other side that says it is easy. We need to tax or take money from those who have made it to help those who haven’t. However, this argument doesn’t hold up. Our country is based upon a mostly capitalistic society. While we do have programs in place to help people, the foundation of our economy is that of capitalism. It is this foundation that has caused our country to grow and to create. It is this type of economy that has become the “American Dream” where anyone can succeed and gain in wealth and standing. I have heard very few people state that they want to earn lots of money so they can give it back to the government. Through my readings, it is this ability to gain and keep wealth that drives many people. People from all walks of life who have earned wealth do not want to part from it.

Any time this subject is broached, arguments from both sides start flying. What we should be doing during this time is taking a moment to start fixing issues. We see daily stories of how the planet is repairing itself during this down time, why can’t we start to fix ourselves. We need to call upon our representatives, to step across the aisle and start working together. They should be calling upon the experts in economics and other fields to lead and come up with solutions.

While there will always be two ends to a spectrum. Perhaps if our leaders work together with the people who can fix this, the difference won’t be as great of a distance. We don’t need to make millions of Rockefellers, but wouldn’t it be nice to have a lot less … I can’t come up with a name.