[America’s] consumption ignores the need [Poor]; [hence] the Goods

Qoheleth 9.^{11-12, 16-18}

 

I turned to observe                

under the sun

that not to the swift              

the race

nor to the wise mind             

bread

discerning                              

favor

for time and chance             

encounter them all

 

I said good [is] intelligence

over valor,

yet wisdom of the poor  

is despised

[their] voice

unheeded. . .

 

[thus]

Sayings of the wise

in quietness

being heard over

the clamor

of one reigning

in stupidity—

 

A better intelligence

than implements of hostility

 missing in error

causing destruction

of a good many.

 

 To capture the commendation of possibility in the pericope, read 9.12-15; translation, July 2025

 

 **

 

Blessed the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

Kata Maqqaion 5.³ (pericope: 5.^1-12, to be read within literary portion, “sermon on mount”)

 **

Additional reading

 

Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor.

- Jame Baldwin, Nobody Knows My Name (1961), “Fifth Avenue, Uptown: a letter from Harlem”

 

 

 

A commentary and illustration of US collective impact in a seriously harmful way neglecting the “all” and “we” of a spirit of America in an age-old promise of prosperity [via consumption].

 

 

**

 

Under the SPM, the number of people in poverty increased from 40.9 million in 2022 to 42.8 million in 2023.   Poverty in the United States in 2023 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress