Sometimes it's Hard to Look
Recently some famous, wealthy, and influential people have joined together with millions of concerned individuals, in a mission to end poverty in our generation. And yet, as much as we want this to happen, it is hard. Beyond the complexities of global economics, corruption, incompetence, and cultural divides, sometimes it is just hard to look.When an ad or television documentary comes on that shows diseased, malnourished children from some distant country, often the first instinct is to change the channel. For most, it is not because our hearts are cold with indifference. It just hurts to see people suffering without being able to do something immediate and direct about it. Surfing away at least puts the problem out of our minds. With so many other entertaining channels to choose from our conscience is quickly numbed and relieved. For another hour, another day, another week, we may forget that almost 1 billion people on our planet are trapped in a prison of poverty. Making only about one dollar a day, they do not have enough to provide adequate nutrition for themselves or their families. Clean water, sanitation, health care, medicines, education, job training, a comfortable bed are all out of reach.
People were absolutely stunned by the events of 9/11. The sudden, tragic death of 4000 innocent people shut down a nation for days, dominated the newscasts for months, and started wars that have cost billions of dollars. But what about the twenty-six thousand innocent children that died yesterday? Did that shut down a nation, start a war, take over the news stations or even get an inside story in the local newspaper?
The reason that you may not have heard that story is because it happens every day. It will happen all over again today, and then again tomorrow. It is not "news". Some blame it on AIDS, malaria, measles, diarrhea, or some infectious disease, but in reality, the reason why 10 million children die every year is because they are too poor to live. The world is capable of producing enough food so that everyone can eat enough food to meet all their nutritional needs. The pharmaceutical companies are capable of producing enough medication and immunizations for every child on the planet. The economies of the developed world could easily end the daily suffering of the destitute. Why this is not happening and discussions of how this could happen is the purpose of this site. Sometimes it is hard to look, but if we are to end poverty, in our generation, we must look.
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