Reply #39: Thank you

[Cal Carpenter]

In personal and work capacities I have spent a lot of time with many, many people who are having a tough time. It breaks my heart how many people internalize the blame for their struggles.

The reality is if it were just a matter of personal failings the statistics of homelessness, foreclosure, bankruptcy, debt and other signs of financial struggle wouldn't look like they do. There is a pattern, the source of it is systemic, and while the pain is felt on a personal, individual level the causes are not individual.

Our cultural obsession with 'personal responsibility' makes it really hard for people to talk to other people about this stuff and realize they are not alone. But they are not. There are tens of millions struggling to keep their shit together.