Have we (as a society) let the burdens of our lives harden our hearts to the suffering of humanity?

The other day I was in a park enjoying my lunch when someone less fortunate came up and asked me for some money. Most folks just automatically discount these lost human lives as bums or any of the myriad names I have heard assigned to them. NOT ME!! I have no idea what this man’s story was or what set of circumstances lead him to me on that day in a park and you know what, why should I care and who am I to judge? Like always, I try to give something. I had a couple bucks in cash, left over from the ten I broke for lunch so I gave him that. The very first person I told about this encounter said, “he is just going to go and buy beer or liquor with your money” I immediately said, how do you know that? “That is what they all do” was the response. I let it go because no amount of talking to this person, who I have known and respected for a number of years, is going to change their perspective, it did however change my perspective of them.

What a sad commentary that really is about us. For those who do not live in the city where folks sometimes live on the street you may have no experience with it but here in Jacksonville I think it is a bigger problem than we want to admit. I say bigger problem and some may immediately agree but wait before thinking that. I see it as a problem, a problem that our society has thrown these people away, living human beings, without even asking themselves, what happened to this less fortunate person that brought them to where they are when we run into them. I do not see it as a problem in that they may inconvenience some or make some feel uncomfortable at all, they do not make me feel that way. So why aren’t we looking at the problem from that direction? When I see someone on the street I wonder, what unfortunate situation in their life has placed them here? Was it the schools that failed them, was it their parents that failed them, if yes what happened to the parents, was it an abusive spouse – what could it have been.

Back to my friend’s response, ya know what - maybe that man needed a beer to drown away whatever sorrow was weighing on his heart. Have we not gotten home and decided we needed a glass of wine or a couple of beers or that neat scotch to sooth our souls from the day? Would we like someone judging us for that? I think not. Ya know what, if that man needed a beer to get through his day and to sooth his soul, why should I care and why should I judge? Still I may have helped him out, not in way our traditional society may approve us, drinking and smoking have been so demonized that we hardly approve of the practices for ourselves anymore. Anything in moderation is the tenant my Mom beat into our heads as children. I always give, if I have cash on me, to anyone less fortunate and I do so without judging and wondering what they are going to do with the money. If one were to try to put oneself in their shoes, which with the economy the way it is many have, imagine how hard that would be for you. Imagine the pressures of the day, imagine having to ask strangers for money. I say a silent prayer for each and every person who is on the street.

On the radio this morning I was listening to a country music station, OK I listen to country so what. Anyway, they got to going on about their opinions about giving some less fortunate person on the street money. I do not remember the exact words but it sank in all day and that it what caused me to ponder this nationwide problem and to write this blog in the first place. Are there some who are nothing but drunks and wino’s, sure but if I have to give to a million of them to get to that one person who really needs it – it was worth every penny I would have given.

I remember once I was going into a Little Champ, kind of like a 7 eleven or other convenience stores, and a woman who appeared to be homeless was standing by the newspaper box counting change. As I got out of my truck I could hear her muttering about something. I asked if she was OK, and she gave me the best answer I have received when asking that question. “I do not have enough for a 40, and I really need one and maybe two”. I was taken back by her response, that is not the kind of brutal honesty that I was accustomed to. I asked her what her poison was and she indicated Schlitz Malt liquor. I went on into the store and got my Mt. Dew and thought, I am going to help that woman out. Even though she did not ask me I bought her two 40’s of the bull and when I went outside, she was still counting change, I handed her the bag and said “on me”. She thanked me and on my way I went, feeling better about myself and with a renewed optimism about being able to effectively communicate the simple truth. I need a 40, how much more honest an answer can there be. I wish we, in our society, could just tell the simple truth more, without all the political correctness and without the shade that our jaded eyes provide.

So, I ask that the next time someone asks you for change or you see someone with the sign “will work for food” give them some change and leave your prejudices aside for a while and smile knowing that you helped someone out, in whatever they needed, not what you think they needed.