Simple Vivacity

(Guest post by P.R.)

The roots of poverty are poor life choices. People become drug addicts, prostitutes and gang members by choice, thus leading to a low income and poor quality of life. Or do they? How often have you heard a child say, when I grow up I want to become a drug addict or prostitute? Does it not seem much more likely that the lack of opportunity, resources, and strong family values lead to a person failing to achieve, thus turning to gangs for direction, and prostitution , stealing and drug dealing to survive? The question then becomes, how can this vicious cycle of failure and poverty be broken. I believe the government has catastrophically failed the poverty stricken, whether they are in large cities or relatively inaccessible country areas.

Technology may help hold the answer to the problem of poverty. Education is foremost to helping people to achieve a satisfactory level of life. By providing the educational system with the necessary tools to teach in a technologically inclined economy, the educational system can be enhanced. Computers should be available in all school systems, along with calculators. Web and broadcast programs could be utilized to better advantage to teach basic science and social skills. All children need to be trained in the basics of computer usage as well as be able to obtain and utilize those technological advances deemed necessary to social adjustment.

It has been shown that the trappings of ‘money’ are more important than how much a family actually owns. Among children, the lack of such things as an I-pod or cell phone, or the inability to go on field trips due to lack of money, are noticed far more by peers than the residence or whether the child has had breakfast. While it is important to provide all children with basic living, such as food and shelter, it is also necessary for their future socialization to provide them with acceptable clothing and the trappings of society.