Do you identify as a "have" or a "have not"? Are you a part of "the 1%" or "the 99%"? To truly have liberty and justice for all, we must listen to people who have different financial resources than our own. The first step to bridging the gap between you and those in a different income group, those whom you perceive as "other," may be to strive to see people as individuals -- with their own stories, their own hearts, their own fears, their own longings -- rather than to depersonalize them by labeling them or their group.
Consider the next time you see a person who is homeless. Your paths might have crossed before. She might have been your cashier when you ran errands a few months ago, but you didn’t notice her. What you didn’t know was that her hourly wage was insufficient to cover her living expenses. When she had medical issues that were not completely covered by her insurance, she stopped getting the treatment she needed, which affected her work performance. After not being able to meet her medical and other living expenses, and after being fired for being late or missing hours because of her medical condition, she became homeless. You have investments in the company that did not pay her a living wage.
Or, consider the next time you see a person who is what you consider wealthy. Perhaps what you don’t see is that this man is responsible for multiple charitable foundations that help many people in need. He may be single-handedly supporting more people, both directly and indirectly, than you can imagine.
The point is that we don’t know what another person’s story is until we get to know them. So, assume the best of those persons you’re tempted to consider "other." Don't evaluate them based on whether they have money or not. Ask them questions about their likes and loves. Get to know their story.
You might also try this suggestion from Dr. Mark Brady’s The Wisdom of Listening:
- Author Christine Longaker suggests seeing the "other" as "another you." Longaker recommends letting go of the traditional role you assign to this other person and envisioning them as another you, with the same desires and the same fears. Imagine changing places with this person so that you're in their life with their history and with their present experience -- with the same feelings, insecurities, and longings. Then imagine seeing yourself through the other person's eyes and ask yourself: What would I most want from this person? What would I most need from them? Try this with someone you know, such as a boss or an employee; then broaden the exercise to a category of people, such as rich person, poor person. As you record your experience in a journal or report it to a friend, consider how this kind of spiritual work, putting yourself in another's shoes, supports the democratic value of E Pluribus Unum, “Out of many – One.