Juxtaposition

In Brasil you can't close your eyes and turn away. In Brasil you can't ignore it and pretend it doesn't exist. In Brasil you can't separate yourself or run away. The juxtaposition between great wealth and extreme poverty is everywhere you look and on every street corner.

When I run each morning I pass the same street children sleeping in front on the same store fronts wearing the same clothes they wore the day before. And, then I complete my run at the $200 a night beach-front Marina Hotel. When I walk down the sandy beaches of Breir Mar I see coveted ocean front million dollar condominiums only to turn around when I reach the favelas without a proper sewage system. I take a deep breathe, hope not to appear apathetic, say a prayer and keep moving. But, it isn't good enough. I can't ignore the deep divide constantly infront of me, begging me to feel something and do something. But, what?

In the United States we (and, by "we" I mean those of us with privilege) hide away our oppressive actions (even if unknown or unintentional) and we pretend that everything is fine. We create zoning laws that separate the wealthy neighborhoods from the poorer neighborhoods. We push the Section 8 and public housing to "undesirable" areas of town. We build gated communities (Kacy!) to keep the "danger" out. We clear out homeless shelters at 6 a.m. so that business men and women do not see houseless persons roaming the streets on their way to work, and the police perform sweeps arresting houseless men and women to "clean" the city before big downtown events. We turn our backs, close our eyes and go through our days not even acknowledging the pain we create.

I think about this often- at least once a day. And, I don't know which is worse. To live in a system that places the pain and the joy side by side and daily forces its people to live with it... even if they do nothing about it (possibly because they are incapable). Or to live in a system that builds a facade and allows people to ignore reality and create a fairytale. I continue to ask myself this question and continue to seek an answer.