The Working Poor

The last of the required books are read for my upcoming class at Louisville Theological Seminary, scheduled for the first week of January. I submitted my papers late last night. I am still rejoicing! It was an interesting group of readings, and I have written about a couple of the books on this blog. However, the book that impressed me the most, I only just finished.

The Working Poor: Invisible in America, by David K. Shipler is an wonderful collection of personal stories about the lives of the poor in America. Through these astonishing narratives Shipler challenges important classic American assumptions about the poor. Shipler provides an amazingly fair representation of poverty that includes the multifaceted variety of causes including: lack of education, job training and soft skills (people skills, punctuality), reliability, disfuntionality in families, abuse, poor parenting, dangerous neighborhoods, inadequate housing, poor nutrition, lack of basic health and dental care, the devastating effects of simple bad luck, absence of any planning, early poor decisions in the teen years that result in unwanted pregnancies and troubled marriages, and of course, low wages and hazardous work environments. In describing the complexities of poverty Shipler attacks the American myth that “still supposes that any individual from the humblest origins can climb to well-being” and would lay blame on the poor for not achieving the American dream. He also attacks the anti-myth which “holds the society largely responsible for the individual’s poverty” (p. 6-7)

Through a fascinating web of stories Shipler, I believe, captures the heart of his readers. Rarely has a book moved me to tears. This one did as these real people seemed to jump off the page and walk into my living room. Part of what Shipler has helped me to do is to see the poor in our community. I know that's tricky, because we never know the real circumstances of a person's life unless we ask. Still, I find myself wondering about the woman who serves me breakfast at McDonalds. Where does she live? Does she have health care? Can she put good food on the table with her minimum wage salary? What about the children crowding around the elementary schools in the morning? Are they hungry? Did someone kiss them goodbye at the door when they left for school? A man needed gas money this week to drive to his out of town appointment with his parole officer. Will he ever be able to find a job? Will anyone give him a second chance?

The poor in our community are everywhere and yet are so familiar they are hidden from our eyes. Their stories are complicated,and sometimes good and caring people are mystified about where to begin to help. But David Shipler in The Working Poor makes a compelling argument that there is much we can do. The first step is to open our eyes and really see the faces before us.