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RHODE ISLAND BAR FOUNDATION PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE: MARCH/APRIL 2008
2/25/2008 |
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 Burdens and Blessings
JOHN A. TARANTINO, ESQ.
President
Rhode Island Bar Foundation
The Seventeenth Century poet, George Herbert, wrote: “No one knows the weight of another’s burden.” Jacula Prudentum (1651). That is true, but I know this: The way that we feel about ourselves will often go a long way toward defining who we are and what we accomplish or fail to accomplish. Self-esteem is a positive, motivating factor, but a lack of self-esteem can be a deadly retardant, an overwhelming burden.
I also know this: All of us want to be someone, persons of meaning, worth and importance. All of us want to make a difference – a positive difference – in this world. From the most humble to the most prideful, we want to be respected, admired and loved. We do not want to be burdens.
There is nothing wrong with these feelings. In fact, there would be something wrong if we didn’t have them. None of us wants to feel negatively about who we are and whether we matter but, unfortunately, some of us do. And even more unfortunate is the reason why some of us have these negative feelings, feelings of despair and worthlessness. What’s the reason? We see ourselves as burdens. We don’t feel that we are contributing in a positive and meaningful way to our lives, the lives of our families and friends, and to our communities and society. We feel worthless.
I realize that many of you who are reading this President’s Message are likely thinking: “Not me”. That’s because most of us won’t experience these negative feelings – at least not for any substantial period of time. But for others – particularly for those who today exist on the margins of our society – feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness are all too real. They are constant reminders of a sad, painful and shadowy existence. What makes matters worse is that the majority of us who have good lives, happy lives, fulfilling lives can contribute to these feelings of despair. How? By treating the less fortunate as if they are worthless, by treating them as invisible men and women, outcasts, collective unwanteds. If we contribute to these feelings of worthlessness, we are aiders and abettors in crimes of misfortune.
Yes, the poor have a lack of money; but our actions are what often cause the poor to believe that they have a lack of worth. Being poor is no sin, but treating the less fortunate poorly is sinful. In a state obsessed with budget cuts, slashed social service programs and immigration paranoia many of the less fortunate are made to feel, and are almost compelled to believe, that they are worthless. If we cause or contribute to their broken down and negative feelings, we have some repair work to do, and we need to start the repairs, the rebuilding, the rehabilitation program now. We can’t wait for a never-coming tomorrow.
If we truly believe that we are created equal and that the law favors no one, rich or poor, then we need to think about the way the law treats the poor, the disenfranchised, the immigrants the unpopular. Do we treat them as equals, as friends and neighbors, or do we treat them as outsiders, outcasts and unwanteds? Which is it? Do we believe that the poor and the disenfranchised are nothing but burdens? Are they simply burdens on our social programs? Are they nothing more than burdens on our school systems? Should they be counted only as measurable monetary burdens on our tax structures? Well, if we focus solely on budgets, numbers and dollar signs, the answers to these questions may be yes.
But perhaps we’re focusing on the wrong images and asking the wrong questions. We need to rise above bottom-line assessments of the poor and recognize that those who are in need are real people, hurting people, suffering people. We must see the poor and, more importantly, we must treat the poor not as worn-out cardboard figures with negative value signs in front of their faces, but as living, breathing, sentient people who need our friendship and respect, as people who need to hear a kind word, see a smile, and be recognized and called by name.
I know what you may be thinking: What’s the point of this President’s Message? We are lawyers, not social workers, not preachers, and certainly not saints. I agree. But I also know that as lawyers, we are ministers of justice. And I know that in a just society, people who are poor cannot be considered burdens, simply because they are poor. Rather, they are persons who deserve and are entitled to the same rights and privileges, the same respect, the same justice, that the well-grounded and the well-heeled experience. That’s because in a just society, the poor, the homeless, the newcomers and the refugees, are recognized as persons of substance and worth and dignity. They are welcomed and cared for, not shunned and despised. They are not treated as nameless, faceless burdens. They are recognized as individuals who want, need and deserve acceptance, the kind of societal and legal acceptance that has always been a strength of, and a blessing for, our country. Today’s poor, tired and hungry must be given the chance to be tomorrow’s productive members of society. This chance can’t be nothing more than a well-intentioned, but misguided dream. It must be the real world opportunity afforded to those who live in a fair and just society.
We must never forget that almost all of us are only one bad break away from poverty, or homelessness or despair. We are all fragile, held together by the grace of what some call good fortune, and what others call Divine Providence. And, although I hope and pray that a terrible day of despair will not come for any of us, if such a day ever does come, and we are in a time of true need, will it make a difference whether others treat us as a burden or a blessing? Think about what you want the answer to that question to be; and also think about how the answer to that question can change lives – yours, mine, and those of many others.
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