One of the nation's working poor weathering a flagging economy, Glen Kegerize of Reading, Pa., details his struggles to make ends meet in America’s poorest city. Watch Odyssey's slideshow of photos taken while reporting from Reading. Read more about Poverty 2011.This video is featured in the ON Scripture column for Sunday, November 6: Joshua 24: 1-3a, 14-25, by Walter Brueggemann.
There are many, many Readings in this country and that's a shame. Face it, folks, it's not all because of government policy--some is but not all. If Reading is down and out, if Detroit is down the drain, why don't the able-bodied move where there are jobs? Don't say this is too costly! And don't say the jobs aren't there. This kind of get-up-and-go is what brought people to this country from poverty in Europe. It's what made the Dust Bowl farmers head to California. God does help those who help themselves. Yes, let's help people through the tough patches, but let's encourage them to step up and strike out for new frontiers not just sit there in misery.
Compelling, especially in that Reading is a relatively close neighbor geographically.
Poverty crushes hope and constrains the human spirit.
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