Wealth & Poverty

I hope I’m not alone in saying that last week’s discussion on poverty and wealth made me a little uncomfortable. When we reached the point where the group was merely discussing their family’s means, I felt we had lost the point of the discussion. However besides that, there were many interesting points made that analyzed common conceptions of wealth from a different angle.

I agree with the definition we established, which identifies wealth as the ability to choose your investments. The most interesting argument supporting this definition, for me, was what Aubrey said about how we are wealthy when we have the ability to choose that lower paying job because we are not as concerned about money as opposed to someone with fewer means. The latter has no choice but to work at the high paying law firm, even if it is inconsistent with that person’s values and beliefs. This was interesting to me because this exact situation is that of “selling out.” Normally, a person that accepts the high paying job over the more fulfilling, but less monetarily satisfying is considered selfish and wealth-oriented. However, I have never stopped to think that maybe this is because they have no other choice. This is the only way to pay the bills.

Furthermore, the discussion of poverty seemed to be going in circles, but I wanted to discuss my own little anecdote on the subject. Both my paternal and maternal grandparents live in India. However, they live completely different lifestyles. My paternal grandparents live in an influential city in Kerala, where the industry is mostly academic and technology based, rather than the agricultural based area in which my maternal grandparents reside. My dad’s parents own one of the largest houses in the area, complete with working showers to dishwashing machines. They run a successful store that sells car parts, which was originally started by my great-grandfather. My mom’s parents live in a small, but comfortable home, where each shower requires boiling an enormous pail of water beforehand. They use the surrounding land as their source of means. In congruence with what we discussed on Thursday, my maternal grandparents are by far happier, and I enjoy staying with them much more. Although their conditions are not of the same caliber, they live without materialistic envy and with a pure gratitude towards life. Their greatest asset is the education they sought for each child. Now all seven are world travelers, living all over the globe from New York City to Ghana. Of my two sets of grandparents, I’m proud to be the grandchild of Anna and Joseph Maniattu because of what they have achieved with what they were given in the beginning.

Just as Frederick Douglass said, “You are not judged by the height you have risen, but from the depth you have climbed.” This rings more important for me.