Poverty is a Reflection of Self
Posted on 29 September 2008 by Justin
Those who live in poverty often lack the necessary means of making their voices heard. They lack both wealth and influence, which is a nice way of saying that they lack the financial means to gain political or popular support. They do not have powerful lobbyist or rock stars to further their cause and they often, but not always, lack the motivation to fight a system that is not inclined to lend a helping hand.
Poverty is a part of every society and every culture. How a culture chooses to engage (or not) their specific brand of poverty spotlights the values and aspirations of its citizens.
With all this in mind, Natalie and I will be partnering with Blog Action Day to help change the international conversation about poverty. Head over to blogactionday.org to see how you can get involved.
Tags | people
This was very well-written Justin. I like it.
Just to let you know your intention is out of a good heart, really, don’t get me wrong. Although, and sad to say, once a person has observed the reality of poverty in a poor country these types of endeavors of the Western World are fruitless.
Luxor in Egypt is a fine example. The government earns Millions of dollars through tourism in Luxor each year, and the majority are dirt poor living in literal dirt. A teacher will earn 350 Egyptian Pounds (70 dollars) a month. About ten percent of the population benefit from the tourism dollar, only.
When Westerners, whom are usually guilt tripped, donate to an organization—that money rarely will help a person get out of poverty, including the homeless in America. Giving money directly to a poor person to help them for the day or week is spiritually healthy. Giving money directly to a soup kitchen or homeless shelter is also a good deed, and directly helps the poor.
In other countries, such as Egypt, the poverty is directly related to the corrupted government. Most well intended Western ventures are fruitless. The majority of Westerners that traveled Egypt would become over-sympathic that stems from guilt and despair, but leads into an egotistic drive to make a change (well intended); although, hopelessness and and a stifled low self-esteem is just around the corner because the deluded person lacks any control over events that happen. Personal guilt, shame and fear directly relates to contemplation that leads to confusion through observing the poverty another country.
Without understanding Karmic bonds, a person will never understand why a person is born into a life a severe poverty.
I realize you two will be traveling Western countries for a while, although if you get to a very poor country you will understand what I am talking about; understanding the attachment of karmic bonds will prevent a person from becoming over-whelmed with negative emotion.
Shawn,
I understand that people end up in poverty for different reasons. Some of the reasons are personal, and some are a product of the society in which they live. I also agree with you that many travelers give money out of a sense of guilt and that throwing money at the problem will never contribute to a solution. While most of what you said is valid, I do not believe that this justifies ignoring poverty or the root causes that contribute to the rise of poverty in a specific country or social class. Blog action day is more about contributing to a valid conversation than it is about reliving guilt through financial contributions. I believe that this is the only way to approach this difficult and complex issue and that many good ideas (such as micro-financing) may be hashed out and expanded upon.