Option for the Poor and Vulnerable

Option for the Poor and Vulnerable is an extremely important Catholic Social Teaching. In the Bible, we are told that the poor will always be with us, and Option for the Poor and Vulnerable is the Social Teaching that tells us to care for them. We all have an obligation to help the poor and underprivileged in our area. That can mean the beggar on the side of the rode, a family in a poverty-stricken country,or the elderly lady down the street who can't take care of herself. Many people make the assumption that just because someone is poor, they're lazy. That is not true. Not everyone can get a job in our economy, and sometimes the only jobs that they can get, are low-paying with very little to no benefits. There is also a misconception that the vulnerable (handicapped, elderly, or mentally ill) are not worth the trouble, and are somehow less human. That is not true, as well. We tend to have a mind-set in our country that the strong are supposed to rule over the weak, especially since America is strongly capitalist. While competition is usually a healthy thing, we can not forget that we there are people less fortunate than us. The poor, and vulnerable, are just as deserving as the rest of us. They deserve to be cared for, and protected. The poor will always be with us, as will the underprivileged, but together we can make this a more equal and just world.
-Waverly