Stand Up for What You Believe

I'm well aware that this post may bring me some controversey and that's okay. That's what waking up does and I won't be ridiculed for your personally experiences regarding my personal truths.

When it comes to standing up for what's right, why don't we? It's fear. The thing is, at the risk of sounding like a typical conspiracy theorist or whackadoo, we don't have money or power as the "little people" fighting against The Machine. Yes, "The Machine" is the government systems. I'm speaking specifically about government programs that are meant to help those less fortunate.

As a person in the below-average pay grade, rounded up to about $0 usd monthly, I think I have a soapbox to stand on and I have very valid things to say about this particular subject.

I do not believe that we ought to be handed to. I do not believe that those who work hard are obligated to share it with those who cannot or do not work at all. What I do believe is this: the programs put in place and established as active that are intended to assist those who cannot accumulate or even obtain an income that is liveable or bare minimum... ought to actually uphold the spirit of their intention and establishment.

In English: the foodstamps offices ought not turn people away who are literally starving and have no income. The disability offices ought not turn people away who actually cannot work. Medical insurance ought to cover things mental health screenings and possible specialists in relation.

The problem: they won't, half the time. I'm someone who is grateful to say that now my grocery situation is plentiful and healthy, however there are others in my town, in my state, in my country who are now worse off than I am. Also, on top of that, it's illegal for me to help them. Yes. It is illegal for me to use foodstamps to buy someone else's groceries. So even if I wanted to help, I wouldn't be able to or I could face fines - which... come on, I'm on foodstamps. I can't afford fines... or even jail time for failure to pay those fines!

The answer to this kind of problem would be to stand up against the fines and the jail time, because it should not be illegal to return the money to where it came from to begin with in exchange for food that doesn't get consumed by me. It should not matter who is eating the food, so long as that money intended for food... was spent on food. This should also include pet food, in my personal opinion. Pets are members of my household, and if you are going to give me financial aid to help my household survive, pets should be included. Pets need nutrition as well.

Oh, I suppose next you'll want animal health insurance!

Well, yeah... if you're a farmer and you have dairy cows and such, sure you an get farmer's insurances of sorts... what about sheep dogs? What about house cats? What about exotic pets that require special care? Veterinarians exist - doctors for animals, so why not insure them, too?

What's this got to do with standing up for what you believe in?

Well... don't you believe that things ought to be affordable and... at least obtainable? Sure, it's easy for the wealthy to sit in their Lay-Z-Boy chairs in front of their large screens and tell Alexa to tell me that "that's all part of being an adult" while the money they're born from keeps them nourished and warm at night... but unforunately it's not easy for those of us who truly lived poverty and struggle.

Well if you're poor... you can't have a laptop!

False. If I'm poor, I can't afford to keep my laptop powered for too long. I struggle and sell myself just to keep the internet on so we have means of working, paying our three utility bills (we can only just afford three utilities) and yearly property tax (because we believe churches should be taxed, hi, I'm a reverend). So while we have what we have... hand-me-downs to maintain... we are grateful, but we still struggle to fight for things on our own. We like gifts and kind gestures, but the kindest gesture in the entire world would be for someone to be on our side for once.

Fight to end the wickedness of greed... fight to believe.