If youve seen the tragedy unfolding in Southeast Asia, and have been moved, then youre like a lot of people; youre horrified by human suffering, and want to do something to ease it.
Without diminishing whats happening in the wake of the tsunami, let me tell you about some other human suffering. About 230,000 people have died in that disaster, but a third of that amount dies EVERY MONTH in Africa, due to poverty, AIDS, or war. Its so common these days that the media has stopped reporting it. But just because the media no longer pays attention means its no longer happening. Media-types just know that the more often they tell you something, the more your shock diminishes, the less your attention is provoked, until what they tell you is no longer news; its commonplace, almost to the point of abstraction, which is what a tsunami hitting Southeast Asia would be if it happened every week.
If youve done something for tsunami relief, then you should feel good, and you shouldnt let anything Ive written so far take away from that. But consider this: in the four weeks since the disaster, weve raised 5 billion dollars for tsunami relief. Five years ago, the UN said that all they needed to eradicate AIDS in Africa was 10 billion dollars, roughly twice the amount raised for tsunami relief. To date, that amount has never been reached. Imagine how swiftly we couldve treated the problem of AIDS in Africa if it was the kind of lightning rod for our attention that the tsunami is today.
All of this is just another way of saying that your innate human charity (which is not limited to money, BTW) is not something that should only happen on cue, when the news tells us it should be on our minds. Human charity is something you should practice every day. Imagine how good you feel knowing youve done something for Southeast Asia. Wouldnt it be great to feel good like that all the time?
I said this to a friend of mine, who praised my idealism, but said I was also an impractical shit. Giving all the time gets tiring, he says. I told him its way more tiring to be in need, and last I checked, there was a lot more people in need than people giving. Maybe that proves my friends point. Then again, just because there are more of them than there is of us means we should declare their problems too big to solve, and simply give up. There may be more needers than givers out there, but personally, I think the givers have it within themselves to give a lot. Everyday.
By the way, thats a compliment to you. You can thank me by proving me right and helping out whenever you can, and not just when people tell you.
Without diminishing whats happening in the wake of the tsunami, let me tell you about some other human suffering. About 230,000 people have died in that disaster, but a third of that amount dies EVERY MONTH in Africa, due to poverty, AIDS, or war. Its so common these days that the media has stopped reporting it. But just because the media no longer pays attention means its no longer happening. Media-types just know that the more often they tell you something, the more your shock diminishes, the less your attention is provoked, until what they tell you is no longer news; its commonplace, almost to the point of abstraction, which is what a tsunami hitting Southeast Asia would be if it happened every week.
If youve done something for tsunami relief, then you should feel good, and you shouldnt let anything Ive written so far take away from that. But consider this: in the four weeks since the disaster, weve raised 5 billion dollars for tsunami relief. Five years ago, the UN said that all they needed to eradicate AIDS in Africa was 10 billion dollars, roughly twice the amount raised for tsunami relief. To date, that amount has never been reached. Imagine how swiftly we couldve treated the problem of AIDS in Africa if it was the kind of lightning rod for our attention that the tsunami is today.
All of this is just another way of saying that your innate human charity (which is not limited to money, BTW) is not something that should only happen on cue, when the news tells us it should be on our minds. Human charity is something you should practice every day. Imagine how good you feel knowing youve done something for Southeast Asia. Wouldnt it be great to feel good like that all the time?
I said this to a friend of mine, who praised my idealism, but said I was also an impractical shit. Giving all the time gets tiring, he says. I told him its way more tiring to be in need, and last I checked, there was a lot more people in need than people giving. Maybe that proves my friends point. Then again, just because there are more of them than there is of us means we should declare their problems too big to solve, and simply give up. There may be more needers than givers out there, but personally, I think the givers have it within themselves to give a lot. Everyday.
By the way, thats a compliment to you. You can thank me by proving me right and helping out whenever you can, and not just when people tell you.
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kudos for writing this entry.