Proximity Checklist

You know those checklists on social media where you can check off the National Parks (or Heritage Sites or Countries) you’ve visited and then learn if you have been to more places or fewer places than the average person? I have been pondering a Proximity Checklist because I think it informs us regarding our own politics and our own theology.

Some stats:

78.6 million Americans are on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) as of March 2025 according to Medicaid.gov. This is more than the populations of California, New York and Florida combined.

71.3 million are on Medicaid only. 7.3 million are on CHIP only. This represents about one-fifth of the population in the United States.

Below is my unscientific measure of our privilege. I’m not going to ask for your “score” but let’s sit with our scores and ponder if God is calling us to expand our proximity to vulnerable people in this country.

___ I know an undocumented immigrant personally.

___ I personally know someone currently incarcerated.

___ I personally know someone who’s been released from incarceration.

___ I attended public schools.

___ I’ve attended a free or non-profit clinic for healthcare.

___ I’ve attended a free or non-profit clinic for legal services.

___ I personally know someone who is currently unhoused.

___ I have personally been unhoused at some point in my life.

___I personally know someone who struggles with mental health issues.

___ I personally struggle with mental health issues.

___ I receive or have received in the past Medicaid and/or CHIP.

___ I personally know someone who receives or has received Medicaid and/or CHIP.

___ I have personally depended on a Food Bank for food.

___ I have personally used public transportation.

___ I have been arrested.

___ I personally have a disability that impairs my ability to walk, hear, and/or see.

___ I live with someone who has a disability that impairs their ability to walk, hear, and/or see.

___I have had to make a choice about whether to buy food or medicine at some point in my life.

___ I live or have lived in a community with toxins in the water or ground.

___I have been subjected to discrimination based on my skin color.

Bryan Stevenson has famously said:

“It’s actually in proximity to the poor that we hear things that we won’t otherwise hear, that we’ll see things we won’t otherwise see. The things we hear and see are critical to our knowledge, and our capacity to problem solve.”

On this Fourth of July weekend when we enjoy food and friends and liberty, let’s consider our neighbors whose Fourth of July will not be like ours. Privilege blinds us.