By: Rebecca (Hamilton)- printed in WCCC’s Cross Roads: Spring/Summer issue, 2003; revised 3/16/16
This is one of the first articles I’ve ever written!
About five years ago, I went with a group of close friends and relatives on a mission trip to Pittsburgh to feed the homeless. The idea was my then 9-year-old sister’s and was accomplished by my mother’s ambition and donations from local businesses. The cardboard bucket, colored by the youth in our group, contained a sandwich, a cookie, a drink, and, of course, a Bible.
The homeless were generally receptive and thankful. I began to notice, however, that these poor people were wearing Nike shoes, Starter jackets and other various name brand clothing. I looked down at my own feet and had on my usual Payless or Goodwill shoes I bought on sale for $5.00. Granted it would be horrible to not have a roof over your head, but these people had Nikes on their feet.
I have concluded we have a nation of whiners.
Now, before I go on, let me state clearly that poverty is real in the United States and we should do all we can to help the poorest among us, like the homeless in Pittsburgh. My thoughts are toward the average citizen with a roof over their head and food on the table.
But, even the poorest of poor in our country, those at or below poverty level, have Nike shoes. They would be considered to have much in comparison to third world countries. Everywhere you turn, someone is whining about something. From “I’m fat and its your fault, McDonald’s, for not controlling MY eating habit,” to “It’s too inconvenient to have a baby at this time, so I’ll just have a doctor remove it.” America has the resources and technology for everyone to have a fair deal at even a mediocre success. My life is a primary example of this. Two years ago, I was a housewife and mother of three. When my husband left, I had no job, no money, 3 kids, a mortgage, and my car was in the shop. I was determined not to lose my house, or my sanity, while still being “mommy” to my children. I got a job delivering 96 newspapers. Two years and 400 more papers later, I was able to keep my house, buy another car, send my children to a private school, and attend school myself, all while still being “mommy.”
Can a person accomplish such things in the midst of whining about life every step of the way? My guess would be probably not. Remeber the old saying, “There is always someone worse off than you?” That saying helped me out tremendously. There are people in other parts of the world who will go without food today. They will go without crucial medical care. They will be born into and die in the deplorable conditions in which they live. Anyone of those people would give anthing to be even one of the poorest people in this nation. “No matter what other nations may say about the United States, immigration is still the sincerest form of flattery. “- Unknown.
We are brainwashed by politicians who fuel our whining with reinforcing words of how bad it is in the U.S. and how the want to fix our problems. We should all stop listening to the propaganda and the media. Life is a beautiful thing, to be cherished and explored with ambition and goals. I wish others could see life through the eyes of someone who saw their parents gunned down by an official. Perhaps we could look through the eyes of someone whose country is so plagued with AIDS that they witnessed their whole tribe die off from it. Then maybe America’s whiners would take a good look at their own life and see that it is good. I may not have Nike’s on my own two feet, probably because I have 8 feet to shoe, not just my own two, but, I have a roof over my head and I’m never without food. So for all of the habitual whiners out there, the next time you open your mouth to whine, just look down at your feet!
For Every Great Battle, There is a Great Victory!!