I think it’s a combination of a lot of things. One of the things that I think is important to understand is that poverty is not a choice. It’s not something that you make. You don’t have to choose to be poor. Poverty is something you’re born into, and you can’t change your circumstances. If you want to change the circumstances of your life, then you need to do something about it. That’s what I’m trying to get at in the book. I want people who are in poverty to know that they’re not alone and that there are people out there who care about them and are willing to help them. And that if they want help, they can get it, but it will take a long time and it won’t be easy. But it can be done. There are lots of ways to make a difference in a person’s life. The most important thing is to have the courage to say, “I’m not going to take it anymore.” And if you do that, you’ll have a much better chance of getting out of it and making a better life for yourself and your family. So that’s one of my main goals in this book: to give people the tools and the confidence to stand up for themselves and their families and to fight for what they believe in, which is the right to a decent life and a good education for their children, a safe and healthy environment for them to grow up in and an education that will give them the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in their own lives. Those are the kinds of issues that are really at the heart of what’s going on in our country right now. They’re the issues we should be talking about, not the ones that we’re choosing not to talk about. We should all be fighting for the same things because we all have something in common: We’re all human beings who want the best for our families, our communities, and our nation.
The other thing that is so important in my book is the idea of self-reliance. When I was growing up, I didn’t know what that meant. All I knew was that my parents were poor and I had to rely on my mom and dad to feed me, clothe me, and take care of me when I got sick. My mom was a stay-at-home mom, so she was the one who did all the cooking, cleaned the house, did the laundry, took me to the doctor, and all that kind of stuff. She was my only source of income and she did it all on her own, without any help from anyone else. In other words, she wasn’t dependent on anybody else for anything. Now, if I were to go back to that time, it would be very difficult for me because I would have no idea what it means to live on your own and not depend on somebody else to provide you with everything you need. What I’ve learned over the years, though, is how important it is for us as a society to teach our children that it doesn’t matter what your parents do for you, as long as you work hard and do your part to contribute to your community and your country and make sure that the next generation has the opportunity to reach their full potential and live up to their God-given potential. This is a very, very important part of who we are and what we stand for.