There but for the grace of God go I

A few years ago, in a commentary on homelessness in America, the author wrote that one of the biggest problems in this country is the lack of empathy from the housed, who seem to believe that they could never become homeless. 

While the sheltered--poor and rich alike--might worry about, for instance, health issues like cancer and, therefore, participate in efforts to advance treatments and cures, their apathy towards the homeless arises from a confidence that that such a condition will never fall upon them.

I operate at the other end of the spectrum, where I believe that misfortunes that people suffer could have easily happened to me too. 

It is sheer luck that I am not homeless, nor a drug addict, nor one who has already died from an incurable disease.  While not a religious person, I pretty much think along the lines of there but for the grace of god go I!

I was lucky that I was born into an educated upper-class/caste privileged family in India, whose economic security was beyond the imaginations of an overwhelming majority.  It will be a lie if I were to claim even the few accomplishments as testament to my personal efforts because that will completely overlook the familial and societal contexts that made everything in my life possible.

Had I been born into a different family and in a different part of India, and a family that did not have money nor education, life would have turned out differently.  I could have become the custodial worker at the Delhi airport whom I encountered, who smiled and acknowledged us entering and exiting the restrooms, the cleanliness of which was his responsibility.

Of course there is pride in any work that we do.  His work is considered an essential service too, unlike most of what the rest of us do while we hurry through the airport.  But, the material comforts and the prestige that we non-essential workers enjoy are not his.  He sees planes big and small every single day, but chances are close to nil that he has ever flown even for only a few minutes. 

After spending thousands of dollars that he dreams that his children might earn some day, I complain about jet lag and the pain of traveling for 36 hours.  There but for the grace of god go I!