“Democracy” in America

By Daniel Hunter

Welcome to my hometown, Poughkeepsie, where I have lived for most of my life. Over time, I have noticed some serious social inequalities in this city. There are nice places such as Shadows on the Hudson and Marist College, and then there are poor broken down areas that are right around the corner. In my photo essay I hope to expose and reflect on both sides of the city of Poughkeepsie.

Marist College is a place that attracts people to Poughkeepsie. This is the Marist College Student Center. Anyone with eyes can tell that it cost a lot of money to build. Around the campus there are many nice looking buildings just like this one. It’s a pretty good place to go to school. I would know because I have been attending classes here since last fall.

Another one of Poughkeepsie’s highlights is Shadows on the Hudson. Its location provides customers with a scenic view of the Hudson River and the Mid-Hudson bridge. They are famous for their good seafood and steaks.

This room is called the Winter Room and it looks great. It is just one of the five dining areas offered at shadows. A lucky group of people will certainly enjoy eating here.

Bar

Here’s the bar in shadows where there are plenty of drinks and a giant big screen TV to keep any guest entertained. It’s a great place to relax and meet new friends. The drinks are mixed well and the Shadow’s staff always uses fresh ingredients. If you’re not from Poughkeepsie, and only saw these images, then you would probably think that this is the best place in the world.

Now let’s take a look at the inner city of Poughkeepsie. After looking at buildings like this its clear that some areas of Poughkeepsie need to be fixed up. While driving around this area, I noticed many poor, run down buildings just like this one. Who knows what goes on inside this building.

Right down the street you’ll find the Family Partnership Center. Inside, there are a number of different services available to the community. Some of these service include, Planned Parenthood, Health Care, and the Lunch Box.

The Lunch Box provides many poor people with food each and every day. Many people who eat at the lunch box are people who lost their jobs, due to the economic crisis in America.

Soup Kitchen Kid

Unfortunately, many of the poor’s voice are not heard by people in power. In politics, an election is more important than a life. Many people like this young man won’t be eating at nice restaurants like Shadows, to enjoy luxurious fine dining like the politicians.

Inside this bank you’ll find all kinds of people both poor and rich. Some people who use this bank struggle to pay their bills, while others have more money than they’ll ever need. Money is power so the rich will control the government. Since the poor don’t have a voice in society like the rich do, their needs won’t be met and nothing will change.

From the images I’ve shown of this city it’s easy to see the unbalanced distribution of wealth. Why are some areas of Poughkeepsie so nice while others look like a train wreck? In a democracy everyone has a voice, but in this country it seems like only the wealthy do. If America was a democracy then people in power would meet the needs of the poor and forgotten. The rich are getting richer while the poor continue to suffer. I think that democracy has weakened in America. If something doesn’t change soon then America will become a democracy in name only.