Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Companionship
My mother sent me this photo today. I don't know who took it, but it speaks to the heart. This week in two of my classes we are discussing poverty and I have been surprised and dismayed by the hardhearted attitude of several of my students. In discussing myths we tend to have about the poor, I'm struck again by how much we don't want to see the person who is wanting, we desire to cordon them off as separate from us - different from us - somehow deserving of a fate we will never deserve. We protect ourselves from the humanity of poor people. This photo eloquently cuts through all that and reveals a person that loves and a person who is loved. And, as any dog will tell you, that is what being human - or being canine - is all about.
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That's such a human instinct, sad to say. "Well, I would never dress like that, so I wouldn't be attacked like she was," or "I'd never let myself get in that situation--they must be lazy or incompetent!" and on and on.
ReplyDeleteAll it takes is getting knocked down good and proper, just once, to open your eyes, and realize, literally, "There but for the grace of God, go I!" And isn't that a phrase that needs to come back into vogue??
PS. Lovelovelovelove that photo.....even as it twists my heart.
I shared a similar photo with you once. If you google:
ReplyDeletephoto homeless man with dog
It's the first one in a line up - all the photos are excellent.
I think that human instinct grows out of fear - I wonder how often wrongheadedness can be traced to fear. I suspect a good amount of the time.