Waiting for the train, we saw this man with no legs and only one full arm working his way along the platform. A few people walked up to him and gave him some money. I want to know what happened to him, why there isn't some safety net, and why he seemingly can't be looked on as a productive member of society. A similar thing happened earlier in the day - a man with one leg hopped up to the car as we were returning to the airport. One of the people we were traveling with gave him 10 Rupees. He said, "It's hard to argue with that," and explained that the man's argument had been simply that he didn't have a leg.
Why isn't society making accommodations? These two men have additional challenges to overcome, but they are not wholly incapable of contributing to society. Plenty of people with physical challenges contribute in the U.S. in highly meaningful ways. Yes, it means that we have to invest in the infrastructure, but we (as society) benefit when all members are contributing.
There are ways in the U.S. that we don't do this, as well. People who have additional challenges of poverty to overcome often do not receive any assistance to develop to their best abilities, whether it be through tutoring opportunities, adequate classrooms/classroom support, or tuition assistance.
Gandhi criticized the giving of alms as a replacement for the giving of jobs, saying, "The grinding poverty and starvation with which our country is afflicted is such that it drives more and more men every year into the ranks of the beggars, whose desperate struggle for bread renders them insensible to all feelings of decency and self-respect. And our philanthropists, instead of providing work for them and insisting on their working for bread, give them alms." Victor Hugo says in Les Miserables, "Labor is the law; he who rejects it will find ennui his torment." Catholic Social Teaching includes the right to a job with a livable wage, recognizing the dignity of work. Nobody wants to rely on others without contributing. Charity just doesn't cut it. We need to go deeper. Why might this person not be working? (Even as far as whether there is a legitimate reason this person is begging on the side of the road and doesn't accept the job if you offer to pay him/her for work - could it be that much money just won't pay the bills that need to be paid?) If he or she is working, why is he or she unable to support him/herself or his/her family? How can we help this person to overcome those challenges? Yes, it sometimes means demanding work from someone. But the truth about work and money is more complicated than we often recognize.
Why isn't society making accommodations? These two men have additional challenges to overcome, but they are not wholly incapable of contributing to society. Plenty of people with physical challenges contribute in the U.S. in highly meaningful ways. Yes, it means that we have to invest in the infrastructure, but we (as society) benefit when all members are contributing.
There are ways in the U.S. that we don't do this, as well. People who have additional challenges of poverty to overcome often do not receive any assistance to develop to their best abilities, whether it be through tutoring opportunities, adequate classrooms/classroom support, or tuition assistance.
Gandhi criticized the giving of alms as a replacement for the giving of jobs, saying, "The grinding poverty and starvation with which our country is afflicted is such that it drives more and more men every year into the ranks of the beggars, whose desperate struggle for bread renders them insensible to all feelings of decency and self-respect. And our philanthropists, instead of providing work for them and insisting on their working for bread, give them alms." Victor Hugo says in Les Miserables, "Labor is the law; he who rejects it will find ennui his torment." Catholic Social Teaching includes the right to a job with a livable wage, recognizing the dignity of work. Nobody wants to rely on others without contributing. Charity just doesn't cut it. We need to go deeper. Why might this person not be working? (Even as far as whether there is a legitimate reason this person is begging on the side of the road and doesn't accept the job if you offer to pay him/her for work - could it be that much money just won't pay the bills that need to be paid?) If he or she is working, why is he or she unable to support him/herself or his/her family? How can we help this person to overcome those challenges? Yes, it sometimes means demanding work from someone. But the truth about work and money is more complicated than we often recognize.
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