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Homeless Heart

Are the homeless living in the land of the living dead? Not quite. Come on, whatever happened to the "reasonable expectations" regarding the standard of living that our forebears held--dusty covered wagons, sod huts, labor by the sweat of the brow...are these totally outdated views of reality? Well, yes and no. Yes, covered wagons are a thing of the past, and a hazard on modern highways, to boot; except'n of course the modern trail rides that are publically-approved, sponsored events conducted primarily to remind us from whence we came. Yes, sod huts are outdated in the eyes of most people, but Mother Earth News still teaches its adherents how to build a comfy sod hut structure for those back-to-nature die-hards who don't feel at home in prefab; and hey, you ain't in a position to judge if you've never been in a really well-built one anyhow! Yes, labor-by-the-sweat-of-the-brow is, bit by frigging leaps and bounds, going out of style as technology advances, robots and machines take over a multitude of previously personal positions but no, physical labor is not dead yet. And who's to say it's an inferior form of living? The heart of the matter lies in how we interpret the meaning and the value of life, and the means by which perceived values are achieved and maintained. For most people, for instance, what is "acceptable" clothing is directly the result of the fashion cycle propagated by fashion designers via the marketing firms, for instance, of Madison Avenue. We all know that fashion hasn't a damn thing to do with utility, that is, the usefulness of clothing in protecting one's body from the elements. Like Nicholas Cage in the movie Wild At Heart, who proclaimed his snakeskin jacket was a symbol of his individuality and his belief in personal freedom, clothes become a personal statement. More often, and more to the point, they are a statement of acquiescence to the conventions of society, although one rarely thinks of one's choices that way. Conversely, society's rebels most often state their individuality by dressing differently and wearing hairstyles that are at variance with the accepted norms in society. The heart of homelessness does not lie in the physical milieu--the hand-me-down clothing or the cardboard-box huts under the overpasses-- but in a person's state of mind. This is not to say that the physical trappings are unimportant--they are never unimportant--but rather that the physical place and condition of life that the homeless are brought to lies more in the ability to make choices, or view alternatives, that would bring them to physically different conclusions. Some of the homeless, for example, are "there" quite by choice because they value the lack of responsibility. A brief study of history will uncover many not-too-distant cultures that ordered their lives and structured their communities far more on the basis of survival than we do today. The modern standard focuses on the value of work as a means to achieve leisure and recreation; the more perceived value a person's work, the more luxuries he/she can afford, the more trips around the world, etc. The modern standard is not "wrong;" its standing is strengthened by the fact that the majority of people accept and embrace it, indeed, order their lives by it. The heart of the matter, though--majority or no--is that the modern standard is still but one view of reality. Those of the homeless who choose to unburden themselves of the modern standard do not necessarily comprise a threat to the rest of society; are not ipso facto the criminal element or an inferior sort of species. Robert Frost, in his poem The Death Of The Hired Man gave this view of home: "Home is the place where, when you have to go there, / they have to take you in." Many of the homeless have run out of alternatives; they have no place to go. There is no one left who "has to take them in." They are in survival mode: food and shelter needs are paramount. Progressive, "civilized" cultures throughout history have recognized a need to assist those brought to the brink of homelessness, to provide at the very least a last rung on the ladder that, at its bottom, represents starvation, exposure to the elements and death. Efforts to provide relief, for example, to the starving masses in Somalia provide a strong indication of concern, not only within our own communities and countries, but the community of the earth as well. The question has been raised before: Is it enough to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and provide shelter for the homeless or should we also take responsibility for teaching them how to feed, clothe and provide shelter for themselves? The saying goes, "Give a man a fish and you've fed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you've fed him for the rest of his life." To feed a hungry man meets the superficial, immediately-demanding present circumstance; to teach that same man survival techniques is to equip him for the rest of his life. Survival is the starting point of a state of mind. It is the fundamental, primitive instinct within every being regardless of his or her station in life. In relatively "advanced" cultures like ours the issue of survival has been far surpassed by the majority; it is on what is hoped to be a permanent back burner. Only occasionally are we reminded, usually via film or literature, that cataclysmic events brought on by nuclear or natural events, such as earthquakes or volcanic eruptions or global warming, could reduce many of us once again to that basic survival level. Indeed, the insidious nature of disease reduces many to that level, regardless of their wealth or their station in life. In the end it gets us all. As technology increases, the threat of new forms of chemically-composed substances has raised our level of susceptibility to cancer, AIDS and other life-threatening states. In this sense we are none of us as far away from ultimate homelessness as we would like to think. No wonder religion, in all its myriad forms, still flourishes. Atheism provides no hope, no comfort against that perceived "dark world of death." Give us almost anything to provide a psychic sense of hope or comfort against that ultimate state and we will find a way to convince ourselves it must be true. It is interesting to note the reflections of Andrew Carnegie, the steelmaker/philanthropist, concerning the ultimate hope of many religions, heaven and the idea of home. In his youth, before the riches came, he and a small group of likeminded young friends got together regularly to study various life issues. "It passed into an axiom with us that he who proclaims there is no hereafter is as foolish as he who proclaims there is, since neither can know, though all may and should hope. Meanwhile, "Home Our Heaven" instead of "Heaven Our Home" was our motto." The basic propulsion of our social programs could be said to be making our society as close to an ideal state as possible. "Home our heaven" could be the theme. If the concept of home was a simple matter of dwelling, a place to park 'dese ol' bones, the solution would be simpler than it actually is. The concept of home, however, transcends the physical elements and is imbued with social/psychological themes such as safety, family, love, comfort, rest, sleep, warmth, affection and sociability. A cure for homelessness must lie not only in applying the essential bandaid over the evident wound but reach deeper and help the homeless deal with the despair and lack of hope that has been part of their fall to the lower rungs of society. What are the ingredients of despair? A lack of education is surely one ingredient for it is education that broadens one's horizons, teaches a person to utilize the resources of their mind and their surroundings to creatively solve problems. There are many exceptions to this theme, of course. A lack of education does not preclude hope nor does it provide an accurate indication of an individual's intelligence level. Conversely, the educated are by no means immune to depression or despair. The key lies in the form of the thinking individual. History has shown us through men like Henry Ford and Thomas Edison that formal education does not automatically raise the intelligence rate. The aim of many who are able to attend college is to get their degree with as high a grade point as possible in order to qualify for the best possible position in their field of endeavor--a worthy aim in and of itself. Unfortunately, our educational system operates more on the basis of accurate regurgitation of facts than on understanding fundamental premises and utilizing that understanding to creatively solve potential problems. This sad fact makes it possible for those with a capacity for memorization and regurgitation to seem to excel, to be passed off as the bright and shining stars in our educational system. Studies have shown that gifted children tend to become impatient with the simplistic approach to education and, in some cases, display characteristics of a below-average child out of an inner rebellion that even the child does not understand. Some of the homeless grew up in homes where the parents did not encourage anything beyond a basic education out of the fear that they would be made to look ignorant since they themselves were relatively uneducated. The family structure in this case is usually authoritarian with the father predominant and concerned most of all with maintaining his predominance. From an early age, therefore, the children are squeezed into a mold of dependency that ill equips them for the complex issues and alternatives an adult faces in the real world. Lacking a high level of self-esteem they fail to attempt further training or education that would provide a greater variety of choices for them to pursue, out of the fear instilled within them as children and juveniles--that of looking stupid. Indeed, the fear of failure may be the greatest self-limiting factor in our society today. Give a person a fish, remember? You feed him for a day. But teaching that person to fish for him-or-herself is to equip them to feed themselves for the rest of their lives. In today's world one needs a skill. The unskilled laborer is not entirely gone, and perhaps never will be, but the opportunities are increasingly limited. Training the homeless to function well in today's society, today's marketplace, is teaching them to fish. The computer becomes a key element at this point. It is increasingly important for job applicants, even in entry-level positions, to have a working knowledge of the computer. Computer training opens up a world of opportunities because it is such a versatile and growing field. From warehouses to retail sales counters, to the desks of entrepreneurs seeking to meet a need in the marketplace and thus create their own destiny, a working knowledge of computers, and the ability to effectively utilize their information/decision-making resources, is increasingly a determining factor between success and failure. Computer software increasingly provides the best in educational possibilities, with interactive formats and stimulating graphics and easy-to-follow tutorials for learning to use the programs. Provided a person has adequate reading/writing skills, mastering various computer programs could be a fairly simple, straightforward process, with each step accomplished bolstering the student's self-esteem and giving them the impetus to accomplish greater things for themselves.
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