Toothless Masses

I was listening to a radio talk show on health care the other day when a call-in listener who sounded as though she came from India or Pakistan used the words "toothless masses". A sacred cow had invaded the discussion. The woman was referring to the poor people of the USA. How dreadfully embarrassing. The host and both his guests of differing points of view leapt to take up arms against this cultural interloper. There are no toothless people in the US, everyone knows that. Well, those millions without any health insurance might be short a few teeth, and then everyone on Medicare who doesn't have supplemental insurance may be missing a few ... I myself have a gap in the back of my mouth, and now that I might not go to Juarez to my dentist there, heaven knows what will happen when I lose a crown. The toothless are definitely among us.

Yesterday I attended an artists' reception, the most upscale event in this little village. When I stepped outside I saw a man I know slightly hovering by the entrance. This man has exactly one visible tooth. He seemed to want very much to go in and mingle, but he stayed outside. I happen to know that he thinks of himself as an untrained poet and artist. He has no job, he spends a lot of time protecting cats and dogs who seem to be his only friends. OK he's weird, but is he weird because he has no teeth or does he have no teeth because he is weird? Some toothless people get along fine, but most stay in the shadows with their mouths shut.
The toothless masses of the US. Un-acknowledged and without representation in their own country, but recognized in other, poorer places.