Poverty is not just about cities.
Rural agricultural workers take it on the chin daily, especially during harvest time.
My hunch is that most of the people who visit this site have never investigated the work of the United Farm Workers.
I hope you'll take the time to visit the group's website at www.ufw.org.
The organization has been at the vanguard of labor and civil rights activities for over a generation among farm laborers.
As I look at the photos and read the white papers posted on this educational site, I am reminded of what James, the brother of Jesus, wrote a long, long time ago:
"Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.
Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you."
(James 5:1-6 NIV)
Larry, thanks for bringing this issue to light. Few groups get less press than the urban poor, but farmers might be one. I might be a city boy now, but I grew up in the agricultural world and care deeply for our farmers.
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