Poverty

So.. this doesn't really relate to anything that we've talked about in class specifically. Although it does relate to sociology. It was a random thought that I was simply going to blog about on facebook, but I decided to post it here as well. The topic has been brought up indirectly during class, I believe, therefore I believe it should be an acceptable blog topic.



We’re always told that we have it so good here, and that people in other countries are suffering, starving, living in poverty, etc. It’s a knowledge we have grown to know, but we tend to push it to the back of our minds. Out of sight, out of mind. We would rather not worry about it, because if we did worry about the world’s problems, we’d likely go insane. Therefore, we push it out of reach. If you’ve seen the suffering, then it tends to be an image that haunts the back of your mind, and when someone brings up the topic of people suffering in other countries, the image tends to reappear. It doesn’t leave; it has left its mark.

Think about the roof over your head. Think about the sounds that you hear. Think about the food that you eat. Think about what you smell. Think about the walls you see surrounding you.

When the topic of poverty is brought up, I’m taken back to Peru. I can hear the pigs squealing in my ears. I can feel the wind blowing dirt and sand into my eyes. I can feel the kids running around, tugging at my arms. I can hear the kids laughing, I can see them smiling. I can smell the garbage dump that they live in.

I bring myself back to today, and look around the four walls I’ve lived in for the last 17 years and wonder… what gives me the right to complain?