You just have to go and watch this documentary if you didn't see it tonight. You can watch it for free on pbs.org at Frontline. It is a devastating account of American poverty from children's perspectives. Their parents all are working. They still don't have enough to eat or stable places to live. The girls reminded me very much of my friends when I lived in Waterford, CT in the early 70s and other kids I knew in rural Maine in the 60s. I was never quite that poor, though we were pretty close at times. At these friend's houses, I slept over night on beds without sheets, had dinners that weren't dinners and spent time in houses with little to no furniture.
The fact there is not more help for both the kids and their struggling parents then or now (no surprise two of the three families struggling because of health issues) is a disgrace.
The fact that the 'sponsor' of the show was Goldman Sachs hawking the idea that their investment in companies will save the world beggars belief. I suppose we are meant to believe if they were investing in these sad little people's towns all would be well. Disgusting.
What is so gut wrenching about the documentary, made not surprisingly by a British filmmaker, is that the kids are so resilient in one way and so vulnerable in another. They are wise beyond their years. Most of them are having trouble enrolling in school because of instability, however, so what will become of them?
It's a terrifying and fearless look into everything that is wrong with America. Having lived for 8 years in a country, the UK, where there is an actual safety net, I am just mortified Again by my own country. And ashamed.
That's not enough though. Action is necessary. The Occupy movement is part of that, yes. But there needs to be a deeper change in consciousness. I really hope enough people watch this show to begin that shift away from the idiotic idea that 'the market' will save us.
Welcome to my blog..
"We struggle with dream figures and our blows fall on living faces." Maurice Merleau-Ponty
I am now transitioning into being married again with a new surname (Barclay-Morton). John is transitioning from Canada to NYC and as of June 2014 has a green card. So transition continues, but now from sad to happy, from loss to love...from a sense of alienation to a sense of being at home in the world.
As of September 2013 I started teaching writing as an adjunct professor at Fordham University, which I have discovered I love with an almost irrational passion. While was blessed for the opportunity, after four years of being an adjunct, the lack of pay combined with heavy work load stopped working, so have transferred this teaching passion to private workshops in NYC and working with writers one on one, which I adore. I will die a happy person if I never have to grade an assignment ever again. As of 2018, I also started leading writing retreats to my beloved Orkney Islands. If you ever want two weeks that will restore your soul and give you time and space to write, get in touch. I am leading two retreats this year in July and September.
I worked full time on the book thanks to a successful crowd-funding campaign in May 2014 and completed it at two residencies at Vermont Studio Center and Wisdom House in summer 2015. I have done some revisions and am shopping it around to agents and publishers now, along with a new book recently completed.
I now work full-time as a freelance writer, writing workshop leader, coach, editor and writing retreat leader. Contact me if you are interested in any of these services.
Not sure when transition ends, if it ever does. As the saying goes, the only difference between a sad ending and a happy ending is where you stop rolling the film.
For professional information, publications, etc., go to my linked in profile and website for Barclay Morton Editorial & Design. My Twitter account is @wilhelminapitfa. You can find me on Facebook under my full name Julia Lee Barclay-Morton. More about my grandmothers' book: The Amazing True Imaginary Autobiography of Dick & Jani
In 2017, I launched a website Our Grandmothers, Our Selves, which has stories about many people's grandmothers. Please check it out. You can also contact me through that site.
In May, I directed my newest play, On the edge of/a cure, and have finally updated my publications list, which now includes an award-winning chapbook of my short-story White shoe lady, which you can find on the sidebar. I also have become a certified yoga instructor in the Kripalu lineage. What a year!
And FINALLY, I have created a website, which I hope you will visit, The Unadapted Ones. I will keep this blog site up, since it is a record of over 8 years of my life, but will eventually be blogging more at the website, so if you want to know what I am up to with my writing, teaching, retreats and so on, the site is the place to check (and to subscribe for updates). After eight years I realized, no, I'm never turning into One Thing. So The Unadapted Ones embraces the multiplicity that comprises whomever I am, which seems to always be shifting. That may in fact be reality for everyone, but will speak for myself here. So, do visit there and thanks for coming here, too. Glad to meet you on the journey...
It was a moving documentary. The young people were incredible - particularly the two girls. They had great spirits and were so charming - despite the stressful situation they were in and the problems that young kids shouldn't have to deal with.
ReplyDeleteThis country must do a better job of seeing the effects of the income gap, and off shoring of jobs, and wall street speculation bubbles, etc. on real families trying to make it.
Some of these adults had made some questionable choices, it seemed to highlight the trap of consumerism - as flat screen tv's and video games and brand name sneakers were prized - when it was clear that living more simply and economically and preparing for a rainy day is always a good idea.
I do think it showed the generosity of the American people in general - look at all of the different charities, food banks, housing assets, etc. were employed to help these families. Americans do care for their neighbor. But it is a fragmented system and not so easily seen and accessed by people who were working and owning their own home just months ago.