I came across a horrible slideshow in the New York Times Magazine today. Things like this very topic get me emotional because of the I feel like its unfair that there are so many less fortunate in this world. Everyday, thousands of Americans waste food, throw away good clothes, and complain about not having enough. But do we ever stop and think about getting only as much as we can eat? Donating those hundreds of dollars worth of clothing we drooled over the first time we saw them? It's really crazy how self-consumed the world is becoming and moreso how much poverty is growing. As I looked over the pictures that surrounded this article, I saw young boys and girls, some my age, some even younger, digging through the ruins in Africa and rummaging through dumps of computers and keyboards from foreign countries. They dug so deep to find any wiring, metals, or anything that they could use from technology that meant nothing more to us and was ready for disposal. I can't help but imagine what it must be like for so many of them not to have a home, to live in the dirt and dust and not be able to shower when they get home? How is this possible in a world where I selfishly am living lavishly? It only makes me think how self-absorbed some of us have become. Only now and then when I see pictures and read articles, my heart melts and I want to do something but then the next day I'm back to normal and worrying about the next best thing I could do with my life. I worry about my dreams, my reality, and what I'm going to wear to the next weekend's festivities. Not that those aren't things that I shouldn't be doing, but seeing there are hundreds of slums out there with people not having a chance at survival makes me wonder when the world will be able to be equal. Equal in the sense that we may all live without worrying when or where our lives may end because we are malnourished. And as I imagine this perfect world, I remember the words that I once read as I strolled in a museum in India, "without pain and suffering, there is no life."
Check out this page to see what inspired my little piece above: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/08/04/magazine/20100815-dump.html
