the "haves" and "have nots"

The "Haves" and "Have nots"

By Joe Renna

There is a tendency for people who reach a higher level in their socioeconomic scale to totally forget the realm they left. They deny the compassion they once sought when they had less means of fulfilling their needs. The energy needed to ignore those less fortunate is more than that spent accumulating riches.

People convince themselves that what they have has been earned independent of any societal cause or effect. Erased from the debit list is any service that does not have a written receipt. Kindness, compassion and caring are seldom paid back. Yet without that favor or referral or absolution no progress would have been made. It is the kindness of others that allow resources to flow from one hand to the next and not the aggression of the grabber.

Justification for a job well done is measured quantitatively. There is no place in the cost/benefit analysis equation to interject a value of oppression. To acquire wealth one must cause money to flow to one spot, namely a bank account. There is a void left from where that money came. Since the flow ascends vertically the people lowest on the chain have no opportunity to replenish their resources. People who have nothing also lack the ability to acquire more than what it costs to live.

The same people who have convinced themselves that they earned and deserve what they have are blind to the sacrifices that were made on their behalf by people in their lives. Not just parents and grandparents but neighbors, educators and clergy. There is a whole host of volunteers working in charitable organizations who generously give their time and money to help those who have the least. What is given to these people eventually finds its way up the socioeconomic latter. The benefit in helping the poor eventually benefits the rich but very few rich recognize this or chose to address it.

People are in poverty not because of the lack of money. What they lack, more importantly, is the means of earning it. Lack of opportunity, handicapped abilities, health and environmental tragedy can cause someone's world to come crashing down with no way up. People can find themselves in a crisis through no fault of their own. The only cure is the compassion of others.

Billy Higgins checked into a hospital with chest pains. The doctors figured it was caused by a kidney malfunction. An X-ray revealed that Billy only had one kidney. He is 52 years old and has always been in good health. This was the first time he ever knew he only had one kidney. And now it was failing. Billy felt this was a death sentence. Without a transplant he would not make it. He knew the difficulty of finding a donor. His only son was not a match and other family members were not suitable either. Without hesitation his nephew, Charles Higgins, stepped up and offered his. He went through a litany of tests, passing each one over the course of 9 months. Charles is 43 and realizes the risk he is putting himself at. He says its small compared to the risk his uncle has if he doesn't do it.

In contrast of the Higgins story is that of Padro Neves of Plainfield. Padro is 44 years old and had kidney disease for seven years. He is finding it very hard to find a donor. He has exhausted every source he knew. Family and friends either don't match or do not want to take the risk. His wife Amy took to asking the public. Even posting written flyers at train stations. Except for a few offers from people looking for payment in return, which is illegal and a bit ghoulish, they have come up empty.

These two cases show the fine line between the "Haves" and "Have Nots" and that the terms can refer to more important things than money.