The culture and environment in which people are raised will usually create their perceptions of the world. These perceptions, coupled with innate human nature, will usually dictate their behavior, how they interact with other people, and how they react to the challenges life throws at them. It will influence their abilities and the successes or failures in their lives. The culture of poverty can shape these outcomes.
Aside from the psychological aspects that poverty causes, there can be physical complications. Much of the tissue development in the human brain is created between inception and five years of age. Much of this development is dependent on stimulation such as love, music, conversation, touch, other senses and other sensory stimuli. If a child is brought up in a non-stimulating environment, or worse, an abusive environment this tissue creation can be stunted. This, of course, can significantly impede a person’s intellectual and emotional development into adulthood (1). This in turn can cause a perpetuation of the culture and environment of poverty. It can also condemn people to a life of despair, indignity and pain that they cannot escape. Over time these facts and outcomes obviously will affect all of society in many negative ways.
Thus, the question of our times is; how can we stop these vicious cycles which poverty creates? In the United States, as of now, we almost completely depend on our Government to deal with these complicated dilemmas. This consists of many Government managed and siloed departments with many complicated and expensive organizational structures that have very little synergy with each other. These are mostly in the areas of education, healthcare, human services, social security and drug abuse. I do not believe that anyone could argue that these functions have, at best, had only marginal effectiveness. At the same time it is creating devastating out of control financial debt that will eventually threaten the very existence of our country.
These programs have stolen the dignity and caused generational dependencies and resentment by the receivers of Governmental “aid”. At the same time they have created a generation of taxpayers many of whom resent paying their hard earned money into the abyss of Government spending while the problems that they are supposed to solve are getting worse. These dynamics are causing frustration, hate and a terrible polarization of our people that also threatens the existence of our beloved country.
In the book CARING FOR DEMOCRACY: The American Fix, published by The Institute for CARING, we introduce a new, unique, and powerful system called the CARING System. It will substantially save money while increasing services to people when they are in need. It strives to end the cycle of poverty, make people self-sufficient, and then become givers instead of receivers. It creates synergies in dealing with education, healthcare, living conditions and nutrition, which all contribute to the cycles of poverty. It is a system that is fiscally responsible, socially responsive, and spiritually rejuvenating. It is a system that efficiently delivers services with dignity to those in need, while at the same time allowing all of society to benefit-A Joy of giving and Dignity in receiving. It is a system that will truly bless America.
We ask you to read the book and if you believe in CARING’s potential to save our beloved country, please help us by spreading the word and helping to get representatives elected who will start this new and exciting experiment in saving and completing American democracy. PLEASE GO TO OUR WEBSITE AND LEARN HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED. (FOOTNOTE: (1) The Basics of Brain Development. Dr. Joan Stiles and Dr. Terry Jernigan)
