Poverty Pulls at the Heart Strings

February 9, 2010

How do you react to evidence of poverty when there is so much in the world?

Ecuador and Peru Travel Report # 12 and Visual Viewpoint: Shoeshine Boy in Plaza Begs for a Customer

Would your reaction to this shoeshine boy in a plaza in Quito be one of guilt because you have more than he has, for you can afford to stay in high class hotels while his home may be on the street or a shack? Or would you feel pity on him for his need to earn money in such a fashion? Or would it be annoyance that he bothers you with his request for a shine or money?

How would you feel if you didn’t want a shine but offered him fifty cents — they use U S  dollars as currency, which makes it easy to evaluate the relative cost of things — just to take his picture. He wanted more. But our guide said that was generous and indicated more money would encourage other children in the area to assume we were an easy target. There are simply too many in need to be generous to all.

There was so much poverty in both Ecuador and Peru that we couldn’t have done any more than scratch the surface if we had given all our money to even a fraction of those who needed help. In the countryside we saw farmers in the high Andes working their land with crude implements no farmer in a more developed country would consider using, for these farmers had no money for gasoline to fuel standard machinery.

As I began writing this blog and chose this picture to illustrate our travels, I thought about the relationship between guilt and charity, between concern and generosity, between gratitude and compassion.

Do CEOs who take in million-dollar bonuses while laying off workers give to charity because they feel guilty, or because they see the other person as worthy of respect? I suspect more the former or they might resist that bonus in order to keep a few more workers in the plant.

As I examine my feelings about this situation, I didn’t give to the young boy because I felt guilty. Rather, I felt blessed to have resources with which I could travel, which is something this young man may never do unless he’s given a better education. And that’s not likely unless the government puts more of its resources into schools.

In Peru as we were driving across the highway that goes through the high Andes, almost everyone walked, including children, who I was told walk three hours a day to school! However, we did see some bicycles and were told that a couple years ago a group of tourists learned of the situation and collected money for ten bicycles. Now the children pick up their friends on the way to school. It’s a little different than our teenagers who give friends a ride in their new car.

I’ve just finished listening to Carolyn Myss‘ Invisible Acts of Power: Channeling Grace in Your Everyday Life, which I heartily recommend. She collected more than a thousand stories of people’s acts of kindness, generosity and compassion and noted that, “Every kind action we do for someone is a reanimation of our own life force–and the other person’s. . . . Each time you reach out to another person, whether you decide to do a small favor or because you feel compelled to help, you perform an invisible act of power that has profound healing effects for you both.”

I’m not sure whether this boy was grateful for what I gave him; He didn’t seem to be, but that doesn’t really matter. If he is able to buy food with it, his stomach will be grateful. And hopefully my contributions to the Global Fund for Children and their work on behalf of educating and  the children of the world will prevent other children from needing to follow in his footsteps.

Unexpected, A Bull in the Center of Cairo

October 20, 2008

Not every city has bulls standing placidly on the street.

Impressions of Egypt Number 4

In keeping with the blog’s theme of “Enrich Your Life, Enrich Your Relationships,” this is one of several posts about a trip we took in December 2007, to Egypt. It definitely enriched my life and expanded my understanding of that country, and of the many challenges they face as they evolve into a different kind of country than the one I visited. — Note added in 2011 after the spring revolution

This entry could also be filed as one of my “visual viewpoints” you may have seen in earlier posts.

As we drove through Cairo in a taxi a day after Christmas, we saw this steer being cared for by several young boys. He would be killed in a few days and given to the poor during a Muslim festival in which charity was a feature.I wish I knew more about it to write with more authority, but I include this picture here because it seemed as out of place as finding a bull would be in Los Angeles. Yet on second thought it was not so amazing when I think of all the other sights that seemed so foreign to our experience.

On the other hand, there have been a number of things in my own country that seem out of place to me. So this picture suggests the following question:

What have you seen in your travels that is most out of place? How does that add flavor to your life?

Nineteen-Year-Old Headlines

October 11, 2007

Headlines from a nineteen-year-old newspaper found in the bottom of a drawer illustrate how problems hang around for decades (and longer).

I didn’t have to do it. It was my “nothing” day, which means I had written the word “Nothing” on my calendar. On those days I wake up to an empty schedule and can do anything I want, from eating popcorn and watching a movie to reading novels or driving to the mountains. I can do anything at all that I don’t HAVE to do. So the one thing I didn’t HAVE to do was clean out my desk drawer.

But it’s been accumulating junk (which didn’t seem like pieces of “junk” when I put it in the drawer) for more than 19 years. And lately I’ve gotten tired of digging through everything in order to find one small item I need quickly. Besides, since it wasn’t something I HAD to do, it piqued my curiosity to see just what was in there. Let me tell you, in 19 years you can get an awfully lot into a drawer measuring 7 inches high, 21 inches wide, and 23 inches deep.

Here’s a partial list of what I discovered in that mess.

50+ pencils you have to sharpen, which I don’t like to do
12 mechanical pencils I do use, which are in addition to all the pencils I keep in jars around the office
21 small holders for lead needed for those pencils
11 boxes of mechanical pencil erasers (some are probably so old they’re hard)
15 boxes of paper clips and clasps of various sizes, in addition to many loose clips
3 tubes of Vaseline to moisten my lips
5 tubes of Neutrogena for my hands
24 permanent markers
12 high-lighters
17 keys that fit a door or cupboard somewhere, but where?
2 three-hole punches
30 match boxes for candles I often like to use in the office
6 candles that don’t fit into a holder
3 votive candle holders without candles
8 holders for scotch tape
4 tubes of glue that work
5 tubes of dried-out glue
8 cloth wipes for glasses, though I use Kleenex instead, despite the ophthalmologist’s recommendation
1 bottle of lens cleaner
4 glass cases with extra prescription glasses in case I need them
3 empty glass cases
1 sponge holder for stamps
1 unopened box of rubber fingers so old they are completely unusable
6 rulers
7 boxes of staples
1 staple remover
5 gum erasers that might work
5 gum erasers that definitely don’t work
12 paper napkins waiting for the next time I eat lunch at my desk (but then, of course, I forget and bring in a fresh napkin)

PLUS a bunch of other stuff !!!

The newspaper lining the bottom of the drawer was the front page of The Los Angeles Times on April 12, 1988. I’m sure there are other, older newspapers lining other drawers somewhere in the house. But none of the drawers are used every day, as this one is.

In any case, I found the headlines interesting and discouraging. So little has changed. Wanting something for a blog topic today, I thought I’d share them with you.

• Pakistani Blasts Called Sabotage: Linked to Pro-Soviet Afghanistan Regime, U.S. Is Reportedly Told — According to U.S. sources, “the explosions wiped out a major source of CIA-supplied tactical assault weapons for moujahedeen resistance fighters battling the Soviet-backed government of President Najibullah in Afghanistan.” Hmmm. Let’s see, weren’t we told that if we got involved in the fight for freedom that the Middle East would become more peaceful?

• Second Hostage Is Slain Aboard Kuwait Airliner — Threatening terrorism to force one’s opponents to capitulate didn’t work any better then than it does now. It was only two years after this that we were asked to come to Kuwait’s rescue in the Gulf war.

• U.S. Bishops Condemn “the Sin of Sexism” — A pastoral letter that had taken five years to write said “the church has perpetuated sexism by historically interpreting Scriptures as teaching that women are inferior to men and through insensitive priests who even today are known to tell women to ‘offer up to God’ the abuse of their husbands.” The bishops said they therefore “regret and confess their individual and collective failures to respond to women as they deserve.” Then they called the people of God to join them in “personal and corporate contrition for the sins of sexism that violate the basic tenets of our faith.” Isn’t there another sin for which the Catholic church has had to apologize since then?

• ‘Last Emperor’ Reigns Over Oscar Ceremonies: Best Picture Winner Adds Eight Other Awards: Cher and Douglas Take Top Prizes for Acting — Hollywood always has something to take our minds off the mess in the rest of the world.

• U.S. Jews for Peace Talks on Mideast — What front page couldn’t be complete without mentioning the Arab-Israeli conflict? A poll conducted by The Times found that “American Jews overwhelmingly support the U.S. Proposal for an international peace conference on the Middle East, favor increased autonomy for Palestinians and believe that both Israeli and Arab attitudes must change for peace to occur,” etc. How many peace conferences will they be before we see genuine peace? I don’t suspect there will be enough in my lifetime.

• 8 Palestinians Deported in Act of Israeli Reprisal — The first paragraph said: “The Israeli government deported eight Palestinians from the occupied territories Monday and served a dozen more with expulsion orders as it continued a series of reprisals after the controversial killing of a Jewish teen-ager last week in a West Bank Arab village.” Killings and reprisals are nothing new, are they? Funny how people seem to think you can convince your enemy to change his mind when you point a gun at his head. At least in this case Israel only retaliated with deportation, and not a bomb.

• Oil Prices Rise as OPEC Turns to New Allies — This surprise initiative by “second-tier oil-producing nations to join forces with OPEC” … caused oil traders to quickly bid up crude oil prices to $17.89 a barrel. Today we’d all be glad to go back to those “high” prices.

• Speakes Relates How He Made Up Reagan Quotes — Larry Speakes, former White House spokesman, noted in his memoirs, published the week before, about a 1985 summit between Gorbachev and Reagan. Apparently the Russian leader had given several “quotable statements about Soviet desires for peace, whereas Reagan said little.” So Speakes instructed a press aide “to draft some quotes for the President,” such as: “There is much that divides us, but I believe the world breathes easier because we are talking here together.” How many of Bush’s quotes are his own? I know he said “Childrens do learn” the other day because I heard him. But maybe his voice was dubbed and someone who doesn’t like the No Child Left Behind Initiative was imitating his voice.

• Paton Dies: Alerted World to S. African Blacks’ Plights — Alan Patan, author of “Cry, the Beloved Country,” awakened the world to the plight of blacks in South Africa and won instant and lasting acclaim. Fortunately, even in the face of all the cruelty, injustice and conflict in the world, there will always be some who speak out on behalf o
  f the oppressed and powerless. Unfortunately, Paton didn’t live to see apartheid end four years later, in 1992.

How neat is your desk drawer? What headlines lie on the bottom of your drawers and shelves?

Happy cleaning out your drawers.

NOTE: The pencils pictured above are sold by EMC Advertising Gifts in the United Kingdom. They are made from recycled vending cups. You can also get pencils without any wood that are made from recycled denim at Treehugger.

Being “American” on the Fourth of July

July 4, 2007

What does it mean to be an American, especially on the Fourth of July?

One of the pleasures of writing this blog is the chance to learn about a lot of things, not just of topics I knew I didn’t know, but of others things I didn’t know I didn’t know. For example, just now, in writing this introduction, I started with, “One hour from now the fireworks will begin at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.” Since I wanted to briefly describe what the all-day event would include, I looked it up on Google.

That’s when I discovered that in addition to the Pasadena POPS Orchestra musical tribute to the USA (with a military fly-over and a $200,000-plus fireworks display), there would be a special appearance by the 5 Browns playing 5 Steinway grand pianos simultaneously. I’d never heard of the “5 Browns” so I again went to Google and read about these five talented siblings. If you don’t know about them either, look them up and get a sample of their work. I heard them through NPR’s Fred Child with a performance in Studio 4A.

Let me get back now to the purpose of this post. You see, across the country there are picnics and swimming, speeches and parades, bands and fireworks, and a lot of flag waving. (Incidentally, the flag above is one that flew over Fort McHenry when we visited a few years ago.) For each person who participates in any of the traditional July 4th activities or who simply stays home and enjoys the day, there is something expansive about the holiday, something that says, this is the day we celebrate being who we are.

If that’s the point of the day, then this is a good time to consider what exactly makes someone an “American.” We have more than enough conflicts to keep Congress from making progress on important issues like the immigration, but even as divided as we are, something holds us together. The questions below encourage you to explore the glue that unites this divided country.

If you are reading this and you aren’t an American citizen, it would still be interesting to see what you believe “being an American” means. Is it possible for you to separate our politics from our other characteristics?

EXPLORING SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES

What does it mean to be a citizen of the United States?

Are there any obligations to being a citizen, other than obeying the law?

What is the most important characteristic of an American?

What holds America together?

Do you believe there would be a greater connection between people in the United States if we were all required to do some level of public service?

With an increasingly global economy and an ever more diverse culture, is it possible to have a nation where there is a strong bond between people? If so, how could that be accomplished?

I believe it is important to recognize that as Americans we are related to one another. We may not look alike and we may not think alike, but there’s something in our culture, in our country, that does unite us. Otherwise, we wouldn’t make a relatively peaceful transition from one administration to the next, even when sharp divisions keep us arguing every day. Just what is this “something” that keeps us together and can we build on that “something” so that all Americans will be better off (and the world as well)?

Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia

Everyone Killed is Missed by Someone

May 28, 2007

If you don’t have a family member fighting in the armed services, who do you know who has someone they love in harm’s way, or in harm’s way in a city where violence is too common?

My grandson Eli was nineteen when, on July 5, 2004, one of his best friends (someone whose life he had twice saved when surfing) fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a tree. Eli was killed instantly. Suddenly a life that showed great promise ended. The driver, a young man with whom Eli had attended a 24-hour three-day music event, didn’t recognize his impaired ability to drive and was slightly injured. But he will carry the guilt of his mistake all his life. And there is a huge hole in the fabric of Eli’s family and friends that will be with us all our lives.

Memorial Day, when we honor fallen service men and women, is an appropriate day to tell you about Eli. You see, before his death, I would feel sad when hearing of the numbers of American’s killed and maimed in Iraq and Afghanistan. But I could maintain my distance from the statistics. After all, this is one of the first wars we’ve fought in which far too few of us have been asked to make any significant, personal sacrifice. Unless a family member is facing the daily danger of being in the middle of a civil war, Iran and Afghanistan are strangely disconnected from our lives. We may talk about the conflict, but it’s happening to someone else.

That is why the casualties didn’t hit me quite as hard as they have since Eli’s death. It isn’t that I wasn’t aware that families deeply miss those who do not return. It’s just that I could keep that awareness from touching my heart. Numbers were just numbers when there was no face to go with them.

Today I have a face: Eli’s. Now when I see the pictures of the fallen soldiers silently commemorated every Friday in “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,” I cannot watch without crying. I see Eli’s face. He wasn’t a soldier, but I know the pain of a life cut short. The numbers take on real, personal significance.

I feel this way not only when I hear about Americans killed, but also when I learn of the high numbers of Iraqis and Afghanis killed and maimed. I am particularly distressed because they are often killed by inter-tribal and sectarian violence. A life for a life. When will the cycle end? I cannot fathom how humans can have so little regard for other human life that they kill without, apparently, any remorse for the families torn apart. Every time I see a picture of a dead civilian, I immediately think of the people whose lives will be dramatically altered by that death.

We have lost our moral compass when we ignore the intrinsic connection of one human to another. We have focused so much on our own pain that we don’t see the pain in the eyes of the other person.

The men and women in the armed services have been asked to do a very difficult job in an area of the world where complex disagreements won’t be solved by singing camp songs across barbed wire borders. And whether or not we got into this conflict on shaky grounds, we are there. But if we stay, let’s make certain we have a good reason to ask our soldiers to remain in harm’s way or to kill, in our name, a person who is loved by someone. To do otherwise asks too great a price on both the person killed and on the surviving loved ones both here and abroad.

I hope that the story of Eli helps you remember that everyone killed — in the streets of a war-torn country, through negligent driving, in the course of a robbery, in defending gang territory — is missed by someone. If you can commit yourself to seeing the intrinsic value in everyone, even when you don’t understand them, even when you think they might be an “enemy,” Eli’s death will have contributed to something positive.

If we keep firmly in mind that every man, woman, and child in this world is precious and has only one life to live, we may be less likely to rush into war the next time it seems like a good idea. And if you don’t feel any particular connection with the people killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, I suggest that when you see pictures of these men and women you don’t know that you substitute in your mind’s eye the face of someone near you, someone you would miss they were asked to sacrifice themselves for you.

If you are interested in learning a little more about Eli through the unique celebration of his life, you may want to read Celebrating a Young Man’s Life in the Support4Change section on Grieving.

EVERYONE KILLED IS MISSED BY SOMEONE

When you see a man or woman wearing a service uniform, do you think about how difficult it might be for them to be placed in a position where they could be asked to kill someone in your name?

When you see a picture of a fallen soldier or civilian who has been killed in Afghanistan or Iraq, what would you say to the family they leave behind?

When is it necessary to fight a war where lives and families, as well as property and irreplaceable historical buildings and objects, will be destroyed?

If you believe the death of every person who is killed leaves a hole in the fabric not only of a family but of a community, what can you do, personally, to help heal the quilt of humanity that has become frayed and torn?