As the divide between the haves and the have-nots increases year by year in the USA, I really should be everyone's duty to make sure that their neighbors have enough to eat, a warm bed, and clothes to wear. Strong communities take care of each other.
Unfortunately we have been taught to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and rise to the top by stepping on everyone below. It was a bold lie to tell everyone in school that if you get good grades and work hard that you may be the president or a CEO. It isn't as easy as all that.
The struggle is real. Thank you for sharing your story @intelliguy. While I wasn't poor (although I am sure I thought we were) we didn't have many extras. I knew I wasn't one of the rich kids in school. Even when my dad was out of work in the winter, we had food on the table. I count my blessings.
As a divorced mother of two, I lived in a small college town and had several other divorced mothers to help me navigate the system so that I could have affordable housing. That helped tremendously since jobs weren't high paying nor plentiful. Christmas was always a hard time for me since I was essentially living from paycheck to paycheck. We all do the best we can and I just hope that my children know how precious they are to me and how much I love them.
Take care and God bless!