In Western society, poverty is often thought to be the deserved outcome of human idleness and failure. Poverty is tantamount to sin, and – if some had it their way – perhaps would be punishable as a crime. This appears especially so in many Christianized societies, although Jesus (born in a humble stable) said it would be harder for the rich to get to heaven than a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.
Not only hard work, but money itself, has become a virtue within itself. Gone are simplicity and idyllic aspirations, such as that expressed by poet William Bliss Carman: “Thank God for poverty, that makes and keeps us free, and lets us go our unobtrusive way […]”
Indeed, materialism can also be a ball and chain.
Not Everyone Loves Wealth
American Indians, the first inhabitants of America (which has become one of the most materialistic nations on earth) knew very different values. Lakota Chief Sitting Bull (1831-1890) said of invading white people, “The love of possessions is a disease in them.” (Chief Sitting Bull (Tatanka Iyotake)
Other segments of society (especially those in creative fields, such as music, literature, poetry, or art) have an almost inborn disdain toward working for money, considering their work as a far more valuable reward. Often mathematicians and physicists fit into this group, too.
Of course, spiritual and humanitarian realms also attract people with a certain personality and mindset. Mother Teresa said:
“There is hunger for ordinary bread, and there is hunger for love, for kindness, for thoughtfulness; and this is the great poverty that makes people suffer so much.” (It's a Money Thing, Quotes on the Poor)
Nevertheless, everyone knows the world still looks down on poor people.
Who Really are the Poor?
The belief that poor people are the leeches of society, using up space on earth for no particular purpose, is deeply engrained into the fabric of a culture borne of the industrial world. People are expected to work tirelessly as ants, often at uninspiring jobs or for greedy corporations that are ecologically very harmful, as long as there are insurance benefits and the pay is good. Few question if this is the only way to live and look down on others not as successful.
The truth is the poor are often also successful in many different ways and are a more complex and diverse group than imagined.
Surprisingly, veterans comprised 25 percent of all American homeless (2007 figures). Highly praised as soldiers, they return home sick and disabled, and are clumped into the category of the weak and poor.
According to Rachel Engelson in Handicapped and Disadvantaged: The Disabled Poor in America (2006), up to 20 percent of Americans are disabled. Disability can happen to anyone because fate is random. More American women are poor than men, and an unforgiving 35 percent of America’s poor are its own children (2008). Children, of course, cannot be blamed for whatever penniless world they’re born into. Another noticeable group includes the growing ranks of the mentally ill.
World of the Poor is Rich in Illustrious Names
Despite the great stigma of poverty, multitudinous famous people have been churned out from its grueling realms. This seems especially true in creative fields. Who hasn’t heard of the starving artist syndrome? Many artists sacrificed their lives in deplorable conditions. They experienced huger and sickness, becoming famous only in death.
Could it be that culture would suffer greatly without the generous and rich contributions from the unselfish poor?
Vincent Van Gogh could have easily been the poster child of the starving artist. He suffered from both mental illness and acute poverty, yet completed all his prodigious work at manic speed in only 10 years time. Self-taught, he forged his own style and today is considered one of the great artists. Yet, in his own lifetime, he sold only one painting and remained destitute until his suicide.
Songwriter Joni Mitchell wrote a song to Van Gogh (Turbulent Indigo):
“Tourists talking about the madhouse,
Tourists talking about the ear.
The madman hangs in fancy homes
They wouldn’t let him near!” (Song Meanings)
In music, many souls have sprung from that seemingly barren desert of poverty, including the Beatles and other contemporary and classicial musicians . Composer Franz Shubert (1797-1828) led an impoverished bohemian life of toil and dearth. When he died at age 31, this child of peasants had already composed 1,000 musical pieces, including 9 symphonies, 31 religious works (masses, etc.), 50 piano sonatas and chamber works, and 17 operas/operettas.
As for writers/poets, who can match the dark distinction of America’s Edgar Allen Poe, who allegedly couldn’t afford a blanket for his dying wife. Suffering from mental illness, chronic ill health, possible alcoholism, and debt, Poe was born into poverty and lived his entire professional life (except for one year) below the poverty line. After 160 years, Poe is a very beloved and brilliant literary figure, whose works are still popularly sold today.
Famous leaders among the illustriously poor include Abraham Lincoln. Born into poverty in a Tennessee cabin, this self-educated lawyer, scorned and derided, became the 16th American president (1861–65).
Lincoln, a Republican, remarked, “Those who toil up from poverty are the ones to be trusted most.” (Lincoln Quotes)
The number of poor people who made their mark is impressive considering their many obvious limitations.
Homelessness
According to Noted Individuals Who Have Experienced Homelessness, a very partial list includes:
- John Drew Barrymore, actor, father of actress Drew Barrymore (streets/shelters)
- John G. Brady, governor of Alaska 1897-1906
- Andrew Burke, governor of North Dakota 1870-1873 (as child sent west on one of many "orphan trains," accompanied by Alaska governor John Green Brady)
- Charlie Chaplin, Oscar-winning actor, writer, director, producer, composer
- Daniel Craig, actor; James Bond 007 movies (park benches)
- John Paul DeJoria, billionaire (homeless in youth)
- Philip Emeagwali, supercomputer scientist, lecturer, a pioneer of Internet (refugee camps, abandoned buildings during childhood)
- Drew Carey, actor, writer, producer, comedian
- Jewel, Grammy Award-nominated singer-songwriter (homeless at age 18)
- Benjamin Franklin, among US Founding Fathers
- “Johny Appleseed” (John Chapman), American naturalist
- Kelsey Grammer, actor (TV series Frasier) (slept behind a theater)
- Cary Grant, actor (alleys, when couldn’t afford a cot in a flophouse)
- Harry Houdini, magician, (streets/temporary shelters)
- David Letterman, Emmy Award-winning talk-show host (pickup truck)
- Phil McGraw ("Dr. Phil"), talk show host (lived in car)
- Charles Sanders Peirce, Harvard-educated genius scientist, mathematician (homeless later in life, relied on charity)
- Colonel Harland Sanders, founder Kentucky Fried Chicken (homeless age 10)
- William Smith(1815), father of English geology (homeless and in debt 10 years)
- Hilary Swank, Oscar-winning actress (car/floor of friend's vacant house in youth)
- Rino Thunder, Native American actor (N.Y. city park)
- Shania Twain, Grammy Award-winning singer (homeless shelter at age 13, with mother and siblings)
Reappraising Society’s Poor
The next time a bum is seen on the streets, think twice; that person could have easily been George Orwell, author of the famous novel 1984. He lived as a beggar, part-time vagrant, and migrant worker to obtain experience for his novels.
Although many poor people rise to fame or fortune, far more are never really allowed to meet their full potential and generally struggle much harder to meet goals. That doesn’t mean their lives were unsuccessful.
The truth is most people work; some just don’t make money. Their lives were very difficult, but never boring.
Sources
- FRANZ SCHUBERT ( 1797-1828)
- National Poverty Center, Poverty in the United States, 2009
- HOMELESSNESS IN CANADA, Rudy Pohl, Preamble, Nov. 2001
- Poe's Literary Labors and Rewards, Myth and Reality, John Ward Ostrom, 1987
- Vincent Van Gogh, Paint your Life
- Famous (Poor) Artists, Musicians, Poets
Paula Marie Deubel - Published author/writer/journalist/poet I've always written under the pen name "P. Mari," an abbreviation of my full name. I have ...
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