Prosperity is a state of economic well being, of being free from poverty, and I, for one, am all for prosperity.

I like having a nice house, a nice car, living in a good neighborhood and being able to afford organic food and quality clothes. I like having health insurance and life insurance and having a card at Blockbuster to rent movies.

My husband and I came to Phoenix from Chicago twenty years ago with nothing more than what fit in our old Chevy and a few bucks to our name. We sat in lawn chairs in a cheap apartment watching a little black and white television.

We worked hard, very hard, to get past the struggle for rent, the rice for dinner, the thrift shop sales for clothes and kitchenware. We were after the American Dream: Prosperity.

Did we ever once betray our core values and spiritual beliefs? No. And now that we live the "good life", do we forsake our values and beliefs for that extra dollar? No.

I guarantee prosperity is better than poverty. I have lived in both economic states and I hope to never again experience poverty.

It has also been my experience that it is much easier to let go of values and beliefs when you are struggling, when a little dishonesty could garner considerable economic relief. Do we not see evidence of this every day, as our media tells of gang warfare in inner city neighborhoods? Sociologists time and again tell us that such action is an outgrowth of severe poverty, and that crime is born of hunger and need.

Do we not then, as a free people, wish prosperity for all those willing to work for it? Do we not then, as a free people, value the ethic of hard work and the belief that work contributes to the betterment of society?

Is this not the very essence of values, honest work for honest reward? Do our values not lie in the satisfaction of an honest day's work? Is prosperity not the result of these values?

I believe that the inherent good and honesty in people still exists and is evident in the prosperity of everyday people. I believe prosperity is a positive economic state, and that to achieve this dream is to show commitment to honesty, to hard work, and to the belief in us, as a free people.

Learn more about this author, Shelly Mcrae.
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