The Other War On Poverty By Leo Tolstoy

In retrospect of the life of Leo Tolstoy, writers have analyzed his relations with the peasants of Russia, but few understand the deep spiritual connection he shared with them (Tolstoy 150). His religious reputation and his fame as a “social prophet” obtained the conflicted attention of those who followed the Russian Orthodox Church, especially the Russian government. Noted for his ingenuity and pardoned for his contributed efforts against terrorism at the time, Tolstoy continued to support his unique faith in Russian peasants and those in the working class despite contrasting opinions of well-regarded philosophers and other artists of the time (Stephun 157-158). As Tolstoy approached the end of his life and slowly descended into near physical …show more content…
Not as much research exists that attempts to prove that physical poverty is worse than poverty of the mind. When the horrors of physical poverty is discussed, specifically in the United States’ War on Poverty movement, the topic of spiritual poverty often lacks appearance in the conversation. This lack of discussion on poverty of the mind when combatting physical poverty in the country is a notable topic to consider when measuring progress in the United States. In an article entitled “The Other War on Poverty,” Leon R. Kass discusses his views on the state of America and the campaign against spiritual poverty in its culture. He writes that life in America can easily be seen as “spiritually more impoverished than ever” (Kass). He refers to the rise of public atheism, the fall of religious observance, the lack of meaning in one’s work, and other factors including the voidness of pop culture, the fragile ties of marriage and family, the “failure of higher education to nurture the hungry souls of our young,” a steep increase in depression among students, a decline in political involvement, and doubt about America’s future, “fueled by a strident cynicism on the left and a growing despair on the right” (Kass). However, he argues that a virtue of hope is present among the American population, along with a thirst to pursue meaningful work, strive for love and family, respect the country, and search for the universal truth. Kass believes that much spiritual poverty exists in America, but the population has “the courage to insist that the well-being of the spirit is central to [the] notion of national success and personal flourishing. This war on [spiritual] poverty will not add a cent to the deficit. It can enrich...lives beyond measure” (Kuss). It portrays an additional opinion