MIKE TODD described the many ups and downs of his career as a theatrical producer by saying, “I been broke lots of times, but I ain’t ever been poor!” The difference between Todd and some inner-city kid is that while both could be destitute, circumstances allowed him to see himself as having a future.
Often, politically and economically oppressed people can only see today. For them, there is no tomorrow much less any day after tomorrow. Release from that sort of trap requires community political action.
But individuals with a wider range of opportunities open to them are trapped sometimes simply because they see themselves as trapped.
In times of desperation our natural hope may be obscured.