Spotlight - Writers Forum

ebmadman · 03-05-2006, 09:36 PM

In recent months the spotlight of public opinion has shone brightly on the
city of Houston, its charitable heart exposed in the form of assistance
given to hundreds of thousands of people in need. But in committing such
generous acts the city has exposed its weaknesses in terms of its care for
its own. The working class Houstonian now has little to no room for error
while making decisions regarding employment, housing, and his children's
education.

I live on the lower end of the Houston economic spectrum. In my world, the
world of the blue collar working man who clings to his job as both his
salvation and his prison, the advantages of residing in a major metropolitan
city are constantly needed. The overflow of jobs, however menial or low
paying, the abundance of schools, and the scores of apartment complexes all help lessen some of the strains of living on a meager income.

Before the influx of evacuees upon Houston, I was a firm believer that
some type of job could always be found. That is no longer the case with the
newfound burden of another city's populace thrust upon us. Jobs, however
menial, are no longer in plentiful supply. Employers may even give evacuees
jobs based on sympathy for their plight. Furthermore, where is the sympathy
for the working class Houstonian in need of employment in his own city?

Every other Thursday, a large 18-wheeler can be found parked in front of my
apartment complex. Slowly, workers begin unloading the truck, its contents
to be distributed to the numerous evacuees who are now my neighbors. So
burgeoning are the populations in nearly all apartment communities that if a
native Houstonian were to become in need of living arrangements presently,
he/she would be turned away simply for lack of room. Where is the living
assistance for the native Houstonian, who now has to compete with countless others not only for employment but also for shelter?

After attending a parent-teacher conference at my son's school, the latest
chapter in Houston's generosity-generated problems became apparent to me. It seems my little boy will have to pay closer attention and grasp concepts
more quickly because the individualized attention he previously received,
however small, is simply no longer available due to the greater number of
students in his class. He too will have to fight for his rights as a
Houstonian, his right to an education, fighting off the distractions of
obstacles that have been thrust upon him. He will have to endure the loss of
the personal relationship that he shared with previous teachers because his
cities generosity has made it so, a tough task to ask of a first grader.

I don't want to appear as an uncaring, insensitive Houstonian; rather it is
my wish to be a concerned, protective Houstonian. When helping so many
others comes at a cost of depleted resources for our own citizens, causing
them undue hardship, maybe we should admit that we simply cannott.

Perhaps it is the spotlight, so attractive and alluring when all eyes are watching, bringing attention to problems and screaming that we all do the right thing. And we tend to do just that, the right thing, while under the glare of the spotlight, our actions illuminated and on display for all the world to see.

But when the majority of people stop watching, make no mistake that the
spotlight still shines; it simply has to be brought back to everyone's
attention that we who helped everyone else need our shine also.

eggo · 03-05-2006, 10:22 PM

Very Nice editorial,

I am not sure short stories is the place for this, But it is an excellent piece.
You did very weel to stay away from rage here that would have benn easy to fall prey to.

You addressed the problem succiently and honorably.

A few crits,

Cannott= cannot

Quote:

And we tend to do just that, the right thing, while under the glare of the spotlight, our actions illuminated and on display for all theworld to see.

Maybe "the entire world"

Quote:

But when the majority of people stop watching, make no mistake that the
spotlight still shines; it simply has to be brought back to everyone's
attention that we who helped everyone else need our shine also.

This last section, will heartfelt is cumbersome. I would re-work this a bit.

Thanks for the read

ebmadman · 03-05-2006, 10:27 PM

Thanks for the critique and the reply, I really appreciate it.

johnnywraith · 03-06-2006, 12:57 AM

Many socialist manifestos have origins in such writing.

Good work. It makes me think about politics, taxation, allocation of resources.

Blackhawk_t · 03-15-2006, 04:39 AM

This is good stuff. It's amazing how when they started helping the evacuees, they stopped helping everyone else. I feel for them, but you need to remember to help your own family first.

I guess a better way to say that is: Before you help other families, you have to take care of yours first.

You don't hear anything on the news and radio about this. I wonder why? Maybe because stories like this don't sell, and they don't see themselves making a profit off of those who needed help before this happened.

You got a great writing style. I enjoy your work.

ebmadman · 03-15-2006, 11:16 AM

Thanks for the response. As I said, I dont want to come off as insensitive or uncaring, it's just that things have gotten so much worse down here than they were before. The area of town I now reside in has just been named the worst part of town based on crime statistics. That in itself is an incredibly frieghtening fact, made even moreso when you have a family to worry about. During the tailend of last year we had 36 murders in a span of 4 months, with 14 occurring in one weekend. 14!!! Why doesn't the national media talk about this? Why doesn't our president do something? I can't wait to leave this town.

ACircuitShock · 03-15-2006, 04:53 PM

Very nice and informative. I would also say that this doesn't fit in the short stories forum, but i was glad to come across it anyway. I knew that Houston was very generous to the evacuees, but I had no idea that this was happening to its own people. I completley agree with the your message throughout this. It is also sickening to me that the news and government has all but ignored this, or at least i have heard nothing of it. Well, what do you expect, it seems the government tried to ignore Katrina, so i guess this should come as no surprise eh? Anyway... very well written, i can't point out anything others haven't Kudos, and I look forward to more.