Where does one go when one “falls through the cracks”. This expression has been used by caregivers for decades to describe what happens to their children or elderly parents when for some reason the needs of their charges are not met by public policy or a relief program. In a much better era in America if a service provider could not meet the need that provider had the good heart to at least regret and witness the shortcoming. 

The harsh reality is and always has been, no one actually falls through the cracks. The expression is too passive and slightly dismissive.  In the previous as well as the current eras, vulnerable children, elders and the sick don’t fall through a crack and ‘poof’ they no longer existed.  For the people failing to serve them, perhaps the irritant of their physical presence went away, but as a parent of a disabled child now an adult, this writer can assure you there is no such thing as ‘poof’ and down the crack the person and need goes.  The pain and suffering go on for that person and family and frequently will be magnified.  

Good is recognizing the ‘irritant of presence’ is not the person, but rather it is called your conscience.  For people who are deported, the irritant of presence should never be allowed to to be the sole basis to shove people down the hole called a crack and then call it a problem solved. The person still exists and will exist at a higher level of suffering maybe for the balance of their lives. There is no anesthetic crack to solve humanity’s issues along with all of humanity’s irritants.  Good is seeing that nationality, citizenship, race and gender may represent legal distinctions which can serve the rough edges of human justice, but the person’s individual conscience is nuanced and does not allowed the disregard life, people, or their needs.  We are simply anesthetizing our spiritual nature if we allow living persons to disappear through the cracks of assumed justice. Good is participating in the conditions of suffering to relieve suffering. Life is a good ride, but as a joy ride, it has its ups and downs, and for the real ups and downs in this life you don’t need to buy a ticket to an amusement park.