Blog Post 1: Quotes- Nicholas Kristof

The article U.S.A., Land of Limitations written by Nicholas Kristof was an interesting read for me and I enjoyed it. There were multiple quotes that stuck out to me. One of them was "I grew up poor, but I worked hard and I made it. If other people tried, they could, too". The author said this speaking for others who he has heard from. His point to saying what he hears is that, it is not so easy for some to just put in hard work and survive. This quote is relevant to the article because he is explaining how people who have nothing, "make" it and it's not from your average upbringing or assistance. Another quote that stood out to me was "The best metrics of child poverty aren’t monetary, but rather how often a child is read to or hugged". This is very important and so true. Money isn't what shapes a child. Love and affection is what will turn someone into a genuine person. This is meaningful to the article because it expresses to others who believe money is everything- is not. One more quote that I thought was relevant to this article was "They grow up not in a “land of opportunity,” but in the kind of socially rigid hierarchies that our ancestors fled, the kind of society in which your outcome is largely determined by your beginning". Just before this text, it was said that 22% of children in America currently live in poverty which is more than it has been in years. These children are growing up in a different time than what it was thought it would be like. Children are judge based off of what they wear, how they act, which is a reflection on the parents. Some truly don't understand how hard it is for others. Instead of judging others we need to think more about how hard it is to live in our society today.

This brings me into what point I will bring to class. After working in a town with low income families, I understand how it is extremely hard to get by. I, myself can say i had no idea what it was like for some. I would find myself being negative or not understanding and open minded to others. Having the chance to work with families like this, I look at it differently and would like to share this new opinion on the lower income families.