Today is the 2nd annual Blog Action Day, a day for bloggers to take (coordinated) action on a social justice issue. This year’s focus is poverty.
There’s a lot of things that I could say, both positive and negative, about doing a day like this. I’m not going to bother.
What I will say is simply this: poverty exists, and it’s our fault. You can’t simply point a finger at someone else, or mutter something about “survival of the fittest.” The mere existence of poverty means that we live in a system where some people are better than others. The persistence of poverty means that we believe “it’s not my problem” or we might pronounce “they should get a job” while living and thriving off of a system designed to privilege a few off the backs of the many. I am guilty and implicated in all of this and, if you’re reading this, in all likelihood so are you.
The ways to deal with guilt are three: denial, self-justification and repentence. Most of what we hear about when it comes to poverty revolves around the first two strategies. Today, let us see repentence. Today, let us see action.
Today, let us see the image of God in the faces of poor people.
I work for an international non profit and it’s just so cool to see everyone getting involved.
Check us out: http://www.worldconcern.org
right
interesting.
for my part, i turn to sites like freerice, kiva, and goodsearch, as ways to help alleviate poverty online.
saw this post via the front page of blog action day. it’s great that you’re participating.
we were very poor when i was a child. we actually picked which bill would be paid out of a hat. my mom and i lived on a can of soup a day. and i also recieved free lunch at school.
thank god for free lunches. the government offered us $10 in food stamps. like that buys anything more than a gallon of milk. anyway,
poverty is out there.
i know some people who actually pick food out of garbage cans at the back of resturants. we need to do something at home quickly. before there’s anymore hungry little children at home or in the street.
Thought-provoking! I think the short answer to reducing poverty is to help people help themselves.
- a fellow Canadian!
Thanks all for stopping by and reading.
hi, Do something for help those hungry people from Africa and India,
I created this blog about that subject:
on http://tinyurl.com/6kv7fu