"Middle class, middle class, middle class," is about as far down the American lifeline as the current crop of politicians cares to go. But there are lots of Americans living below the poverty line. Some are newly arrived there, having recently lost their corporate or manufacturing job, and they don't have a single skill for living without. How does one find the courage to go stand in line at the local food pantry for the first time? How does one recharge a cell phone without electricity? Run a Keurig? Take a shower without running hot water?
There is good reason for would-be leaders to emphasize the middle class. The overall health of a modern country depends on the stability of its middle class. But we need to think and act more deeply. Ultimately, the health of our country depends on how permeable is the membrane between the poor (including the working poor, a group that has been growing lately) and the middle class. And is it more porous in the upward direction than downward?
Please follow the URL below to the trailer for the upcoming (October) film The Line, which will give us a very clear view of our poor, especially our newly poor, and why they are in that unhappy condition. Are you a Democrat? A Republican? Forget that affiliation, and watch as an American whose electricity is still connected!
http://thelinemovie.com/
