Living in the Real World

The other day I was accused of not understanding the ways of the real world. The conversation was centered around people who abuse "the system", the system being any government services offered to the underprivileged. More accurately, I was being shamed for being idealistic and told I needed to grow up and realize that I live in the real world.

I work on a labor and delivery unit in an urban hospital and a lot of our patients are poor and rely on Medicaid, welfare, WIC, etc... all the buzzword agencies that anger people because our taxes are being siphoned off our hard earned wages to be given to those who abuse the system. The majority of our patients are not working and their highest level of education averages somewhere between 10th and 12th grade. Many test positive for urine drug screens, mostly marijuana. Many, if not most, of our patients are on Medicaid because low-income women can receive comprehensive health care throughout and immediately following their pregnancy through Medicaid.

Before I was a nurse, I was a teacher in the Detroit Public Schools. Never was it more apparent to me the reality of being black and poor in our country. We think poor people can overcome poverty through hard work but many can't. From birth, they are trapped in a system that offers menial support that even in conjunction with working a full time job at minimum wage would still keep them below the poverty line.

The problem is not so much that the system is abused as it is our refusal to see that the system is flawed - not because it is abused, but because at its best, it is not enough.

I get it. I have seen the real world and I have a good grasp on what it is. But the real world I see is not filled with cynicism and mistrust. It is filled with misunderstanding, denial and injustice. And these are things we can do something about. We can open our minds to learn about others, and fill our hearts with love and compassion instead of bigotry and hate. We can stand up to injustice and speak out for what is right and just.

And maybe that is idealistic. But isn't there a place for idealism in the real world? Shouldn't we strive for our ideals? Shouldn't we set the bar high and hold ourselves accountable to our ideals? Hold tight to our truths, fight for justice, and pray for peace? There is not only room, but a need for all of that in the real world. Instead of letting the real world harden our hearts and deaden our souls, let us instead pour as much love as we can into a world hungry for justice.

Let's not forget our ideals or dismiss them as unattainable or irrelevant to the real world. Let our ideals guide us in making the real world a world overflowing with compassion and love for one another, a world where we look for the best in one another instead of assuming the worst about each other. A world wherein we can freely love one another without suspicion or contempt. A world free of bigotry and injustice. Idealistic? Absolutely. Realistic? Without a doubt.

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