Overcoming Poverty: How Changing your Mindset and Culture can Change your Life

            A child asked his mother once, “Mom, why do you cut the ends of the roast off before putting it into the oven?”

            After a second of thinking about it, she replied, “I’m not sure. My mom used to do it, so I just followed her example.” The boy, not content with the answer, began to question his relatives. He asked his aunts and uncles and cousins and his grandparents until one day he got to the answer.

            His great-grandmother answered his question for him, “When your grandmother was young, we didn’t have a large oven so in order to get the roast to fit in it, we had to cut the ends off.”

            This anecdote is a good example of tradition and culture. Tradition is an inherited pattern of belief or behavior (like cutting the ends of the roast off before putting it into the oven). A tradition comes from ones’ ancestors and is perpetuated throughout the generations. A culture is a group of traditions which defines a people. Culture is not limited to or necessarily defined by race, religion, or location. Culture can be as specific as each family.

            Every family has a culture and every family’s culture is different, often it is even significantly different between generations. My fathers’ family grew up in an economically poor situation and had been poor through several generations. Most would say that my dad should’ve been stuck in that same situation and doomed to a life of poverty. But honestly, it’s a mindset. Poverty is a culture and just like any culture, you can change it if you so desire.

            What do I mean by changing your culture? Well it’s something called Cultural Appropriation. Cultural Appropriation is the act of examining other cultures (beliefs, traditions, customs, habits, etc.) of someone else and deciding to incorporate those traditions, customs, habits, or beliefs that you want into your culture or family.

            Here’s an example. Let’s say that you live in a family that doesn’t express affection a whole lot to each other. One day, you’re at work and your coworker is talking with his/her spouse and they end the phone call with, “I love you.” This strikes you as odd, no one ever says that! You notice that this coworker and their spouse are very close, and they are more comfortable around each other, so you decide to incorporate this tradition of saying, “I love you,” into your family. You go home, and you start saying it to everyone.

            Congratulations! You’ve just culturally appropriated the expressing of affection into your family! This isn’t the only thing you can appropriate. Once I walked past a family who was having a barbeque and they invited my friend and I to join in and have some delicious steak. We both found it as odd yet endearing. I haven’t had a BBQ since that time, but I think I might just follow their lead and do the same.

            Now how do you change the culture of poverty? There have been lots of attempts to help the poor in this country, but there are still poor people. We’ve thrown money at them, a lot of money (nearly have a trillion dollars), and they’re still poor. Those that take the money tend to continue to rely on the government without much change. The most effective way to eliminate poverty is to change the culture of poverty. There are three simple rules to follow in order to escape poverty:

1.     Wait until you’re married to have children!

2.     At least finish high school.

3.     Once you’ve finished high school, get a full-time job.

Yeah, it’s that easy. But what makes it so difficult to do this? The culture.

Ok, I promise I’m going to tell you what aspects to change.

1.     A support net of extended family and friends needs to be provided.

2.     Education through mentors and advisors about opportunities and assistance available should be made available.

3.     The value of hard work and making your own way through life must be instilled.

4.     Have both parents in the home.

The American Dream to me is being able to live your life enjoyably and with your family. This dream is achievable, and it is about your mindset and your culture, not the circumstances of your birth. My father was born into poverty, but through hard work and perseverance, he left poverty behind and has gone on to do great things. Through his example, he’s helped his siblings find their footing and make the change in their lives.