For my third TED talk analysis, I studied "The story we tell about poverty isn't true" by Mia Birdsong. In the prelude of the video, Birdsong explains that in the past fifty years, a numerous amount of organizations have fought to limit and end poverty, yet the continued help still doesn't seem to be plentiful or adequate. She wanted to inform society of the reality of citizens living in poverty, in not only America, but also all around the world. She stated that the most overlooked aspect in targeting our world's poverty is that we put poor people down to another level, instead of motivating and lifting them up. For example, she declared that "everywhere [she] goes, [she] sees people who are broke, but not broken." Personally, that is the most significant and remarkable expression that I have ever heard, and it portrays my American dream completely. In order to convey her arguement, Birdsong used actual experiences and stories of impoverished families and communities in her TED talk. For instance, she narrated the story of how three mothers that met at a family resources center in San Francisco formed a cleaning business where two of the women cleaned and the other one supervised the children while their husbands went to work. Also, she explains the story of a mother who didn't speak English and how her daughter that began to act out in school because of the underpriviledged oppurtunitues she had formed into a support group for other mothers with the same misfortunes as them. The moral of both of those stories is how the fortuneless can make a difference in society and help not only themselves, but also others all while being penniless. Along with those stories, all of the others constitute how poor communities have extremely hard-working and dedicated people in them, just like wealthy communities and that money doesn't matter when it comes to being successful and diligent. On the counterargument however, Birdsong is not saying that the rich people are not all hardworking and/or that the poor people aren't all lazy, but what she is saying is that unprosperous people take as much initiative in life as do upscale individuals. This TED talk relates to one of the themes of The Great Gatsby, economic and class inequality/injustice. Even though Birdsong states in the TED talk that our problem with poverty is the approach, she still explains the differentiations in our class system and in The Great Gatsby, most of the novel consists of class inequalities; therefore, they go hand in hand.
Personal Statement
In my opinion, I completely agree with Mia Birdsong's argument because I have myself lived in poverty for most of my life therefore I understand and can relate to her stories and interactions with the same people. Her TED talk made me feel like there might be hope for the impoverished someday and that we are no different from the well-off ones. This TED talk completely explempifies one of the aspects of my american dream, which is for EVERYONE to be happy and financially equal, without judgement from anyone.