This is a song by Elvis Presley entitled "In the Ghetto". Today the term ghetto often refers to a low income section of a heavily populated city. Ghettos were first created to house members of the Jewish nationality. The Ghettos were walled areas that did not allow for expansion. Members had to live in closer quarters as their population expanded. The slums or ghettos that exist today are dense and compact, resembling those of the historic Jewish ghettos. However, many nationalities can be represented in present day ghettos.
The song suggests that children in the ghetto do not have the basil necessities needed to survive, such as food. The man in the song turns to stealing and fighting in order to eat. In desperation, he takes a gun to steal a car. He loses his life as another child is born in the ghetto. This child will have to face the same challenges and difficulties that the other young man faced.
"In the ghetto" gives a description of what life in the ghetto would be like. I cannot really relate to this song because I do not live in or near a ghetto. However, it is good to realize what conditions other people have to live in and what makes them the way they are. The song suggests that the conditions in the ghetto almost forced the young man to steal in order to eat. However, stealing is against the law and caused the young man to die, even though not eating would have left him the same fate. It is hard to judge what actions we should take to help those in poverty conditions. Our government has done a lot to help low income families with programs such as WIC and food stamps. However, the ghettos still exist. I don't think we can ever get away from having low income areas, as hard as we might try.
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