I suppose that I am writing this post out of anger and frustration due to a certain documentary called The Boys of Baraka. The film is primarily set in the ghetto of Baltimore and films a group of pre-adolescent at-risk-boys living in Baltimore and then moving to Kenya to attend the boys school of Baraka. While seeing the living conditions of these boys I realized that our society has done nothing to help those on the brink of death, whether it by a gun, HIV/AIDS, or drug abuse. We are constantly reminded of the war in Iraq and how many of our men and women are over there fighting to ensure our safety and freedom and while that may be true, I really don't see them making a difference in the lives of those who already reside in their own war torn neighborhoods, infested by rival gangs and drugs. While some of you may read this and ask yourselves well how does the Iraq situation relate to poverty? The answer is that it doesn't, but the fact that I hear more about Iraq than the needs for those in our own country infuriates me.
Maybe I am just confused about everything, but I do not always understand why we are constantly inundated with the war when we have our own wars here. First off, we are sending thousands back to Iraq to die, while thousands over here are dying, secondly, we are spending billions on the war on terror, but not using those billions to fight childhood poverty. I know that those children in Iraq are also suffering from poverty, but I am addressing a global topic; however, we must realize that realistically we cannot control the whole gamete of problems at once, we must first tackle our own problems in order to set the foundation and lead by example.
Childhood poverty is a reality most of us choose to sweep under society's rug; instead of open arms we turn our heads in dismay and pretend that the problem will go away on its own. The fact of the matter is that many of our own social and economic policies have fallen short of their "self-righteous" duties to fulfill a better life for children. Unfortunately for these kids, some of these policies are only fulfilling a self-effacing attitude that is projected onto advertisements and billboards claiming that they are doing all that they can do to help children in need. Sure we have local nonprofit organizations, believe me I have volunteered down that route and unfortunately a lot of these organizations are denied funding, their funding is cut off, or the entire organization is shut down. These unfulfilled promises for children are creating a pessimistic attitude toward those who really have a desire to help.
Childhood poverty is more than just a word we hear; it is an epidemic of outstanding proportions, from the street youth in Brazil to the ghettos of Baltimore, we know that it exists. These primitive living conditions that these children are living under are having negative impact on a child's cognitive ability, thus creating a maelstrom effect on a child's emotional, intellectual, and social ability to adequately comprehend everyday life. I know that this is a sore topic for some people, and I know that not one person can change the world over night. So before we start pointing the finger and accusing those who lack any sort human interest, I ask you to take a moment and breathe. I want you to sit there with laptop in hand and ask yourself "what about the children?"
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I am a realist and an American. Though I feel for children across the globe that don't receive all of the benefits of living in America, it also sickens me that there are children in the United States living under the same conditions. Raising children in poverty only creates more poverty in proceeding generations. It has to start with the children. In many areas of this country poverty is directly linked to a lack of work ethic in both education and labor. Children need to understand that there are no free rides, only an occasional pick me up when you fall. They need to know the value of education and the power of mind.
RB~
Two years ago, the G8 conference, Live 8 concerts, Make Poverty History and the One Campaign, and films like "The Girl in the Cafe" seemed to inspire the public to work toward ending poverty worldwide. Already our short attention spans have lost sight of this goal... in favor of what? Focusing on celebrities' jail sentences?
Attention to domestic and foreign poverty should be equal. We have programs in place to stop poverty; we just need to improve upon them and commit to ending poverty. We do forget that there are millions of people living below the poverty line in the US and sometimes only focus on other countries, other continents. This is a mistake.
You know, I heard in my physics class last semester that we could probably curb global warming and end carbon emissions with something like 2/3 of the cost of the Iraq war. Imagine what we could do to end poverty.