This post is a continuation of my previous couple of posts regarding apathy, living more satisfying lives, and embracing our more authentic selves so that we may enhance both our individual journey toward fulfilling our unique human potential as well as accept and participate more fully in the larger world. To quote Sigmund Freud, “To be completely honest with oneself is the very best effort a human being can make.”
Abraham Maslow, In the Need to Know and the Fear of Knowing, explains that fear of knowing, of knowledge, is most often an internal fear of knowing oneself concurrent with an external fear of knowing the outside world. Fear holds us back, both from knowing ourselves and becoming, to borrow from Virginia Satir, more fully human. If we are afraid to know and acknowledge ourselves, how can we begin to face or address the broader issues causing suffering in the larger human condition? This defensive, self-protective fear based apathy is sometimes needed to help maintain a world view that blinds us to our own unpleasant feelings and helps protect our self-esteem. Our images, both those we project out to the world and those we seek to maintain of the world and our communities large and small, are our masks, but they are also our shields. We need them to keep dangerous feelings from potentially over-whelming us. They are, in a very real way, a defense mechanism, which by definition exists to protect our egos from intolerable anxiety. We avoid becoming consciously aware of unpleasant and dangerous truths to protect ourselves.
As social workers, clinical and otherwise, a large part of our job is getting people to see and accept the truth more clearly and working through the natural resistance which comes from such an anxiety producing action. We lend ego-support and help build skills and capacities so our clients can face their lives, bear the truth, and take ownership of their rightful place in the world, and it is a (necessary) part of practice on the micro, mezzo, and macro level. Apathy is only easier on the surface. It allows us to hide from our fears, both internally and externally, but hiding from a thing does not lessen its impact upon us.
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This would be true if the assumption that people do not care about those less fortunate are simply afraid of facing the truth of human suffering. That may be true for some– but absolutely not true for all. Many people actively profit from poverty- check cashing businesses, pawn shops, pay day lenders, etc. They are aware of suffering- and far from afraid of it, they exploit it for personal gain. Well-off people in nicer parts of City and suburbia also have no need to care for others – unless they choose to. We really are not all connected.
Religon is one of the factors that compels most people to think beyond themselves and help others- the directive to help the poor is a central tenet in the world’s major religions. Social work was strongly influeced by Judeo-Christian beliefs.
Religons have noted that we are all human- but it is also noted those well off can easily ignore those in poverty with little effect on lifestyle; hence the needed intervention of G-d to get the attention of the wealthy to help care for the poor.
As our nation becomes more secular, and helping becomes more professionalized, it is no surprise that many simply don’t care— it’s someone else’s job to help, call the government.
As social workers we are working toward building more connections- but to start, we have to have an accurate assessment of how our society is laid out, and why people in our communties choose to behave as they do.
This, for me, has nothing to do with religion. In fact, I’d argue religion often has the effect of separating and devaluing others with different beliefs to the point of sanctioned murder on occasion. This has been the case throughout history; Holy Wars, Inquisition. Very few people are born into this world not caring for others. Most children are caring and seek connections, and their connections have nothing to do with what becomes important and often puts adults on opposite sides of the fence as we fight over (perceived scarce) resources. How we are socialized impacts our inherent ability and may cause certain behaviors to develop, but that doesn’t negate the basic drives with which we are all born.
Religion encourages connections OUTSIDE the family. Caring for family is inherent in healthy humans- its the extension of such caring outside of one’s family, and then outside of one’s immediate peer group, that takes the leap. For most people, outside of one’s families and peers, competition is far more the norm. Even amongst professional groups- workplace politics at social work agencies are as nasty and biased as any other place I’ve worked, if not more so since the pretense of being “connected” and “self aware” have to be maintained, even when making purely monetary and/or selfish decisions.
Religion is used to divide- but it is also the most important force in calling for compassion to the weak. Religion, like governemnt, and social work, is a tool – people wield it for many different reasons. Without the Abrahamic religious view of compassion to the needy, there would be no moral foundation for social work as it exists. As far as children- their connections have everything to do with Maslow- food, clothing, shelter, and then the rest as needs are met. Children can be quite cruel as well- social divisions begin early, and children have their own hierarchy. Lord of the Flies is based on very accurate observations of human nature, even at a young age. Look at siblings- competition can be quite fierce amongst siblings, to the point of violence, a common call to CPS.
I reiterate, how we are socialized impacts our inherent ability and may cause certain behaviors to develop. Lord of the Flies was about a a bunch of preteen boys fleeing a war torn country finding themselves stranded with scant resources and no well equipped parental leadership. Can you see the equivalence to gangs in a modern inner city as easily as I can? A pressure cooker if ever one existed! Had these boys basic needs been met, how different might things have worked out? How different might they work out if real tools are provided and not the half-measures we present as assistance. Competition is most fierce, leading to unhealthy interactions, when resources are scarce and needs aren’t being met.
I agree with your assessment of work place politics, even in social service agencies, and it is that pretense, that lack of acknowledging the true state of things to which I speak. It is the fear I mentioned, that Maslow speaks of, that holds us back, whether it is as individuals afraid of making waves at work and potentially losing our jobs, or as organizations afraid of losing contracts or funding. I don’t believe it has to be this way, but it is what we too often settle for due to complacency stemming from fear. Realistically, it takes a whole lot to change an ingrained mindset, and progress may always come in very small steps, but I’d rather work towards an ideal than accept things are the way they are and bury my head in the sand to avoid the pain of hard to overcome obstacles.
I’d love to hear your take on what works and what doesn’t in child welfare….perhaps in a piece you present?
Lord of Flies is extreme example I used; check out an elementary school playground or any middle school lunch room, and you’ll see hierarchy and pecking orders and cruelties to those deemed “lesser” in even the most wealthy of schools. Competition can bring out the best in people- also the worse- but it is inherent in humanity, no matter how they are raised or what needs are met.
One has to keep in mind that social work values are not society’s values- it’s more than fear or apathy that keep many people from actively helping out the less fortunate. It’s a vested interest in maintaining wealth and authority. That’s not going to change by appealing to better natures.
Nothing wrong with working to improve the lives of people- but one has to have a realistitc assessment of the obstacles.
As far as child welfare- my expertise is in CPS. And that’s quite straight forward– power and authority. CPS is civilian law enforcement at its heart, with social work skills coming to play in assessment, crisis intervention, and linking to resources. The civil authority granted by law, and backed up by courts and police as needed- including the abilty to remove children as the ultimate enforcement- combined with the power to give direct aid via cash assistance or its equivalent, make CPS one of the most effective behavior change agents in the nation. Also a reason why I believe in limited govt authority- you really can lose your kids if CPS doesn’t like your housekeeping. Makes me glad courts can check it- I know what I do, and how I trained my staff- but I know I’m not the only one out there doing it.
Agreed, kids can be mean and hierarchies exist in families as well as social groups and always will. There is a vast difference in the degree and from of cruelties that exist in communities where routine, over-whelming violence and despair and limited resources reign than in communities that have basic needs met and an avenue (or at least a perceived avenue) for advancement, and different than more affluent communities which socialize their young to be business owners and leaders. When your choice out of a generational life of poverty is seen as either death, prison or sports it is much more difficult to think and act in self-supporting ways, to overcome apathy within yourself and your community, and work toward what most of us think of as middle class success, and what kids in these communities compete for is different from what kids in more affluent districts compete for on average. This goes back to choices and victim blaming and also speaks to Matt’s piece on standardized testing. Yet the idea of having to overcome that apathy, that fear still adheres. One cannot strive toward an unfathomable ideal when trapped in fear.
Yet in the inner city, many programs exist in schools, churches, and communities to help children out in these sitiuations. Not every child in ghetto ends up dead, in jail, or in sports. Many of them work at DSS with me, because they took advantage of programs and got their degrees. A large number of middle-class kids with decent familes get attracted to “thug life”, too- it’s a common CPS situation. Smoking pot and having sex all day have enourmous apppeal– and easy money from dealing, plus “respect” from peer, make the lifestyle very seductive. Much more fun than studying. My maternal grandparents never made it into high school, yet my mother chose on her own to read everything she could, and ended up with 2 master’s degrees. My father’s family spoke no English, had no formal education, were darker than many black people (Southern Italian, could pass for Indian easy), yet my grandfather became a college professor– back before any government programs were made to help. Both my grandfathers were child laborers as well, in coal mines and mills. Made them better people.
Poor people aren’t robots programed to fail. Many do choose to be successful, and grab oppurtunity. I see our job as to provide that opportunity, link them to it, and, if they allow it, push them to succeed. Not make excuses for them.
Fear has roles in decisions– but so does pleasure and contenment. Make no mistake- the baby-momma, on welfare, selling drugs, using drugs lifestyle can be very seductive- as anyone who has partied knows, it’s fun. But anything without balance can lead to destruction. And addiction plays no small role in why our inner cities are so rife with dsyfunction.
And don’t count out the poor in finding ways to self-support. Even in prison men ran stores (had relatives send in money, they would sell snacks out their cells when commisary was closed), had their own recipes for food and alcohol, knew how to light cigarettes with wires from cell lights, built listening devices from radio parts (you can order all sorts of goods- got a special catalog for inmate shopping- tvs, radios, etc- they’re just clear plastic so you can’t hide drugs in them)….people are resourceful and clever, and can survive. Many an poor person has fooled an innocent social worker who underestimated them.
It sounds as if you are unconvinced of some social workers ability to discern based on a perception of a background or intention. While that may sometimes or in some instances be the case, I prefer to believe many social workers choose to see the the good and the potential in people. Unconditional positive regard and all….I don’t believe personalizing is necessary or relevant to make a point. I applaud those who manage to overcome disadvantages and obstacles placed upon them by society or circumstance, however it’s likely, more often than not, that those who can, those who succeed, come from more healthy home environments and have some tools and resources that others do not and cannot even readily conceive..
That’s exactly it- one must view clients with their potential- what can they do for themselves, and how can they capitalize on that to improve their lives…if they perceive a need to improve. Sadly- many social workers I have met view clients as ignorant victims of society and circumstances that need “saving”. Even the most vulnerable have survival skills- else they would be dead. That is one reason I enjoy working in at my DSS- many of my co-workers were raised in projects and made good– they perceive things much more accurately than most social workers raised in middle to uppper middle class environments.