Hidden Poverty in America

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a commercial on ABC for a Diane Sawyer special called "Children of the Mountains Struggle to Survive," and in the commercial, I saw footage of people living in the Appalachians where conditions seemed almost identical to those of third world countries. When I think of poverty, I usually think of the poor people living in Africa, India, China where it is a struggle to provide multiple meals each day. I never realized that there were people in America living in similar conditions! I did not watch the program, but I read the report on the ABC website. The accounts of the lives of these children were tragic and resonated with our class's description of what characterizes a life of poverty. One of the main reasons these children are in these situations is their parents' addiction to prescription drugs, which makes getting and keeping a job nearly impossible, and without any source of income, the family is virtually stuck. Courtney, a 12-year-old whose mother is now trying to stay away from the drugs says "Honestly, I'd love for me, my mom, Bill and us girls to have our own home," she said. "But we do not have the money to do that. Bill is wanting to get a job, but we can't because we ain't got a car to get him back and forth." Their poverty, in addition to their geographic isolation, has greatly limited their freedom. 18-year-old Jeremy Hackworth dreamed of becoming an engineer in the military. However, after he got his girlfriend pregnant, he felt obliged to work in the mines and provide for his family. Once again, their poverty has limited their freedom and taken away their options.
At New Trier, students thrive on their freedom to choose their life path: most of us have a few colleges to choose from that we can afford to go to, and we have counselors who help us decide what we will major in as we explore career options. Our opportunities are endless, which in many ways is due to our families' wealth, because there is no way that these families living in the Appalachians would, without significant scholarship money, be able to afford a college education for all of their children.
After reading about the lives of these children, I cannot help but wonder why so many people are opposed to socialism. Why not have a system where everyone truly is equal? These kids are at such a huge disadvantage when it is not their fault, it is their parents'! Because our nation's economic system fails to provide the financial assistance that the kids need, they are basically trapped in a life of poverty.