Feature: Poor and pregnant

.

POOR AND PREGNANT

There are those who say that the sexually active and pregnant poor need properly educating into carnal responsibility, but with sex being constantly thrust at us via the media, in a society which sells its wares by promoting and worshipping it, where today are those qualified to offer that? And what chance do those unfortunates have of being and doing any other than their celebrity peers boast about on TV and cinema - whether it be in sex, drugs or crime?

We are all, even the poorly-off, encouraged by Government and big business to make, make, make and spend, spend, spend. This promotes business and boosts the almighty economy of the Country, and for many, complying with this latter means going into debt. The poor pay more taxes, since they have no way of clawing any back; and since they mostly cannot afford to buy anything outright, must bargain into crippling hire-purchase agreements to obtain anything beyond their immediate means - often many times the original price of the commodity. Hence the poor become even more poor and more dependant upon State hand-outs, while the better off, from their position of equity can only improve their lot.

Ours is a system which claims equality for all, but encourages and thrives on inequality ... not at all Christian. It is the very way we conduct business which creates the great divide between rich and poor, and all the degrees of ‘have' and ‘have not' in between. In a nutshell: the poor are poor because the rich are rich. It is the way our ‘supply and demand' marketing philosophy dictates. In such a system there will always be those clever or fortunate who will accumulate more than their neighbours, and thus acquire control over them. There will also be those to whom competition is a curse; those who struggle to make ends meet, and those who fall by the wayside, unable to match the required pace and attitude the system demands.

They are not simply ‘the poor', but are our brothers and sisters in need of compassionate (if sometimes tough) guidance. However, the guidance needed is not into ways of coping in a harsh, competitive, market-driven society, but one in which the motivation is to alter the aims and machinations of that society, to the betterment and happiness of all. But where today are the honourable men and women who would place the welfare of the community above their own prestige and financial gain? Rarely in business, hardly in our legal system - and not in Government, that's for sure.

From babyhood, we are educated into the ways of Mammon, and taught that the accumulation of wealth is the appropriate goal for all. We are educated into an ethos which applauds celebrity and riches, measuring success by the size of one's bank balance, company and societal status, and have forgotten that the prime purpose in life is to help each other achieve fulfilment and happiness. How can we have respect for a society which encourages such puerile, materialistic objectives to the contrary? Where indeed are the ideal role models?

The Nazarene said, "The poor will always be with us", and while Mammon is our god there will always be poor people doing what comes naturally in spite of him. Nowadays, as advised, we are so busy ‘loving ourselves', there is no love left for our fellows, and those who can't buy it find love by the only way they know.

It is not simply those poor and pregnant who need re-educating, but all of us - it's time we changed our god.

© Tom Manson.

.