Do You Feel Sorry For Poor People ? Do You Think You Know How They Live ?

Question

One day , the father of a very wealthy family took his son to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people lived . They spent 3 days on the farm of some poor people . On their way home , dad asked his son " How was the trip" ? "It was great" said his son . 'Did you see how poor people live" ? " Yes" said the boy . So the father asked what his son had learned and the boy replied " I saw that we have 1 dog and they had 4 . We have a pool that reaches to the end of our garden , and they have a creek that goes on forever . We have imported lanterns and they have the stars . We have a small plot to live on and they have fields that go beyond sight . We buy our food but they grow theirs . We have fences to protect us and they have friends and neighbors .
The father was speechless !!
Then his son added " Thanks dad for showing me how poor we are " !

Yes , urban life is different , but that doesn't mean there aren't any opportunities .

What Do You Think ?

G and other heartless scrooges . I live in the country . I've been poor . And there ARE many families that are like the one on that farm . It is YOU who know not .
And Shelby - I'm not talkin about homeless people . There are many people with homes and apartments that are poor . Maybe this is why the Liberals don't really understand what being poor is all about !!

Many Many of you are very mistaken . The point of the story was to illustrate what the true differences are between the rich and the poor . Rich people waste money on things that poor people wouldn't even care about . Amazing that the same story can be taken so negatively by a certain group of people on here . I wonder if this story would make for a good analysis of people's character , morals , and values !!

THE ONE TIME I foolishly thought that everybody would 'see' and many didn't . Very sad indeed . But I think I've learned something about some of you .

Answer 1

I don't know that I feel sorry for them. I do care about them and I can certainly empathize with them. I have a house and several acres of land and a great job, but there were times when the bills didn't all get paid because of unemployment, illnesses, etc. Being poor is based on a number given to the relationship of your income to your expenditures...a lot of people are poor (such as the farmer in your story), but they have hope and a means to exist. The ones I feel sorry for are the ones in extreme poverty that have no means by which to maintain an existence. Different perceptions also come into play here...I was raised on a farm and I've lived in the city, but I'd still rather live poor on the farm than rich in the city. It's just, simply, a different (better) way of life!

Answer 2

Nice story, but I don't know if it really illustrates the differences between rich and poor. Urban versus rural maybe, but not rich versus poor. My answers to your questions are no and yes. I do not feel sorry for anyone based on economic situations. We all have the ability to rise above our circumstances if we choose to make the effort. I have been poor, I didn't like it. In response I worked hard, furthered my education and I now enjoy a comfortable life as a result. What I learned from being poor was that there are many people who do little to change their circumstances. They complain endlessly about how hard life is and wait for someone to do something for them. You cannot rely on anyone in life except yourself. If you need help, by all means take advantage of what is available, but you should never allow the assistance of others to become your primary lifestyle choice. It is sad how some people frown on success, determination and hard work. They believe that because you have achieved your life was somehow easier, you had more advantages, or you oppressed others. These are the same people who will consider you cruel or uncaring when you state the obvious fact regarding being poor in our society, which is that anyone can do what I have done in life, the only thing stopping them is themselves.

Answer 3

Loved the story.

We grew up poor. My grandparents were immigrants and started from scratch. Our cars were old and the seats had tears. Our clothes were average and nothing special. BUT we never even noticed. We lived life to the fullest and had so much love in our family that material things didn't matter at all.
My family worked hard and are now doing quit well. Our foundation was of hard work, love, and strength. That is what makes us successful

It's sad that people get caught up in material things and forget what's important. I'd rather be middle class and spend lot's of time with my family then be rich and work all the time. Money and things are not as important as family and friends

Answer 4

Geez Louise. I'm so floored by some of these people's hateful answers.

I understood the story and thought it was sweet. I love a child's view of life, so innocent. You forget about the small things in life when you're caught up in money and material things. I love living in the country and being able to let my dog go free and sit on my pier at night and watch the sun set over the water and look at the stars..even listen to the crickets chirp.

♥

Answer 5

I feel like the poor people in your story have found the way to a happy life and the visitor is well on his way to realizing that materail things really aren't that important. I am wondering if this was a personal experience for you or is this a story told to you. You seem to have insight.

Answer 6

Of course, many people are poor that we consider rich, such as Paris Hilton. There are about 3 good answers to your question.
1) EVERYONE in the USA and almost everyone in the developed world is Rich beyond measure. We flip a switch and we have light. We set a thermostat and we have heat and cooling which ever we choose. We open the refrigerator and there in lies bounty. Even those people on welfare have much the same. You want to be entertained, flip a switch. You want to travel, go get in your car, catch a bus, train, plane, or cruise ship. Get sick, go to the hospital, you will receive excellent care. Even if you have NO insurance, you will receive emergency care for FREE! You have the strongest army in the world to defend you.
AND you have the opportunity to amplify your material wealth many times over, simply by working, saving, and improving yourself.
The wealthiest Kings were NEVER as rich as the so-called poor in America.
2) Mostly because of answer number 1, I have very few little sympathy for most of the poor. They refuse to be educated, they won't look for a job, they won't show up for work at work time, and won't even do the job they are paid to do. Then they want a Union so they won't get fired for not doing their job, or to keep their employer from making them work to earn their money.
Sure there are a small percentage of people who through no fault of their own, were born with dimenished abilities, birth defects, or disease who are unable to do for themselves. I feel sorry for those people, that is why I contribute to certain charities.
3) The example you provided was less of a Rich vs. Poor story, but urban vs. rural story. When I was a young man, my parents didn't have enough money to pay the 10 cents a week dues for me to belong to the Boy Scouts. That seems awfully poor, but I NEVER went hungry. Many times dinner was wild greens, dried beans, and corn bread. I never went to bed cold either. My Dad chopped and split wood after his regular job and us boys cut and carried wood as well. We had to carry in wood for the fire or coal when we had the money, the night before and Dad got up early and built the fire or added fuel to it if there were still embers.
My clothes were patched and I wore clothing designed as work clothing instead of sport shirts and slacks. But I always had clothing and was warm.
I got an education, almost all of it free, and got a good job. My wife and I worked together with me working two jobs, to put her through college and Law school.
Now we are both retired with a good income and enough assets to live comfortably for the rest of our days as long as there is no catastrophy.
And it really tightens my jaws when Liberals say that I need to pay more tax to help those too lazy to take care of themselves.

Answer 7

A potent story. Sounds to me that the rich man died happy and the poor family lived happy.

Answer 8

I have nothing but respect for the working poor and in my line of work, I visit their homes regularly. Sometimes, I am so taken in by their warmth and graciousness that I just plain out find myself not wanting to leave but instead, wishing I could move in.

Answer 9

Great story.

I too once was poor but I found much of that was an attitude of hopelessness.
With a lot of hard work, good values and character you can change things. As we did.

May I add that we never once turned to welfare and never will.

Answer 10

Sometimes I do. In your story, I wouldn't feel sorry for them.

We didn't have much money growing up and I only found that out recently. We always had plenty of food and clothing. We had toys and we had a creek in our backyard to splash around in. My grandfather was a farmer and we would explore on his farm for days at a time. The kids in my neighborhood would spend every day after school together in the field next to my house playing football or soccer. I had an awesome childhood and I couldn't ask for a better one.

Thanks Earnest. Now I am going to call my dad and tell him Thank You.