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That was pretty cool.
http://www.miniature-earth.com/me_english.htm
Touching video.
That was pretty cool.
Very cool
Cool.
The majority of Americans are unaware that the majority of humanity lives in soul-crushing poverty.
I read a lot of news items about the developing world, and have to turn away at times because it is almost too much to bear. I look at my own children, who are healthy and happy, and cannot help but think about the hundreds of millions of children world-wide who live in indescribably miserable conditions.
When I see people spending tens of thousands of dollars on surgeries for pets, I think of this.
When I see shows on TV about people with 1000+ pairs of shoes, I cannot help but think about how many starving children that the money spent on those shoes would have saved.
The materialism in the US sickens me deeply.
I am always reminded about Oscar Schindler's epiphany in Schindler's list, in which he sobs and cries thinking about all of the people that he could not save because he just didn't have enough money to "buy" people out of the camps from the Nazis.
"This, I could have sold this, and saved... 2 more people...".
That was beautiful to read. Just saying.
...and the "wealth redistribution" that is championed in this country simply moves money from wealthy people to the not quite so wealthy people (speaking from a global perspective). And now, charitable giving from the wealthiest (which is one of the ways substantial foreign aid gets delivered) is on track to being discouraged by our government - because our govt. desires to use more of that money domestically to their own ends.
And, RG, if there wasn't materialism and greed in this country, the vast wealth wouldn't exist to be redistributed. Greed is the motivating factor for both the creation and hoarding of wealth. Can't have one without the other. It is an enigma.
I understand the nature of capitalism, and fully acknowledge that the ability to profit from one's own labor, ideas, and hard work, is what created the majority of the wealth of the United States.
At some point, however, one has to ask how much wealth does one person truly need? one million? one hundred million? a billion?
Jesus' remark to his disciples regarding the gift to the temple of the poor widow of two pennies when contrasted to the rich man's gift of a sack of gold, always comes to mind.
If one benefits from a system the most, I don't feel all that sad if they end up having to pay the most to support the system that generated their wealth to begin with.
One should benefit from one's work, and that is right and good. But I think we as a nation worship materialism a bit overmuch.
Last edited by RandomGuy; 04-01-2009 at 12:06 PM.
"Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." --Jesus
I may not be one much for church-going, or hold a very high opinion of self-righteous zealots, but I do think there is more than a little wisdom in the things that Jesus said about wealth and the poor.
When should society decide it no longer has anything to gain from the individual ac ulating that wealth creating more of it for the rest of us?
As for Jesus: just finished studying James in Sunday School; had a little to say on the issue, as well:
James(5)
...but from Mathew(25) we have the following:1Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. 2Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.a]" class="footnote">[a] 6You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.
Jesus had little patience for either greedy, dishonest rich people, or lazy poor ones.14"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15To one he gave five talentsa]" class="footnote">[a] of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. 19"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'
21"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
22"The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.'
23"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
24"Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'
26"His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28" 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
So the people living on $1.00 per day are all lazy?
RG meet Strawman. Strawman, RG.
You're better than that.
Point is Jesus didn't have scorn for all Rich people, OR all poor people; However he has teachings and guidance for the actions and motivations of both.
I didn't say you believed it, I was just going to begin to make the case against another of my least favorite assumptions:
"If somebody is poor it is because they deserve it somehow."
Many people seem to think that if you are born in this country, that automatically means that you have a perfect opportunity to become wealthy, and that is not the case.
I tend to view it as the "war on the poor" in which any real aid to the poor in this country is viewed as unnecessary, because if you aren't making a six figure salary here, you are somehow morally culpable or deficient.
Last edited by RandomGuy; 04-01-2009 at 02:59 PM.
The video in the OP makes the charge, essentially, that if you are fortunate enough to be born in this country you ARE wealthy.
I've come to the conclusion that compassion for others outside of my immediate family is something I will have to develop in my next lifetime.
I do not believe my money I have made as an American should be taken from me and given to others, certainly not those in outside countries who I have absolutely nothing to do with, unless I myself choose to do so. After some self-reflection, I feel it has nothing to do with the less fortunate around the world. Of course I feel sorry for them. Instead, it is all of these other assholes who exhibit the flaws in humanity that get under my skin and are the ones telling me what I should be doing when I know they are hypocrites themselves. Who is someone to tell me or my father who grew up dirt ass poor and is now enjoying the fruits of his labor how much is too much?
We are all asked to sacrifice, however few ever seem to question the one who is receiving the sacrificial givings and redistributing them back out.
I will not be guilt tripped into others problems and effects of their own doing/cir stances. I will have to suffer the spiritual consequences.
Last edited by LockBeard; 04-01-2009 at 03:41 PM.
It's funny - I think it was the History Channel did a show on Schindler. They did an interview with one of his old acquaintances who said (I'm paraphrasing), "The real Schindler was a hardass. He never would have broken down that way."
That is essentially the case.
Although I need to find that swedish economist's video about global living standards and post that here. It is a very fascinating look into how humanity is developing economically.
You would be surprised at how little money/income it takes to make a vast difference in the life of someone in the developing world.
I would imagine that if one were to plot/measure quality of life on a graph with each dollar of income, it would be a curve with the first dollar making the most difference and gradually trailing off as one goes along with each additional dollar.
Heh, I know a lot of hardasses who break down when they watch Old Yeller...It's funny - I think it was the History Channel did a show on Schindler. They did an interview with one of his old acquaintances who said (I'm paraphrasing), "The real Schindler was a hardass. He never would have broken down that way."
Hardass doesn't mean that they can't have the occasional emotional epiphany, heh.
Thanks, by the way.
Random Dude is saying something important. As you all may well know, I am quite a proponent of capitalism, and believe one of America's biggest virtues is the ability to buy whatever you want, for any reason whatsoever, so long as you can afford it. That is wonderful. And I harbor no guilt whatsoever -- my lifestyle takes nothing from anyone else. Capitalists do not steal what they have. We pay for it.
Buying a fuel-efficient vehicle might have me some $$, but it won't make that gas magically appear somewhere else. Same goes for my food -- my refusing to eat a flame-broiled Whopper may make me healthier, but it won't provide a bit of food for the starving masses in Darfur. (I tend to think alot of the stuff Americans do to solve the world's problems are just symbolism and solve nothing.)
That said, Random Dude is on to something. Just because we CAN, as Americans, buy stuff, doesn't mean we OUGHT to. I would advocate moving toward a more biblical view of wealth and possession (that we are not to judge our meaning and worth on them) and voluntarily choosing to embrace a simpler lifestyle. Being more generous to worthy charities. Perhaps finding ways to encourage capitalism in oppressed nations (how? I don't know).
And we should do this not because the goods will magically show up in North Korea (if they did, Kim Jong il would steal them). Or because we feel guilty about our way of life. Or because the President told us to "sacrifice." But because it is right.
what?? you are completely incorrect
you can be a person who is motivated to earn a lot of money and still avoid being greedy and materialistic.
"Can be" being the operative word(s).
Doesn't matter the motivation, those people who earn a great deal are almost always protrayed that way; and, ultimately it IS the desire to earn that money, or prestige - and do with it what you will (including give it away) that inspires those capitalists that have helped this country create more wealth than any other at any time in history.
What I can imagine has NEVER happened is some dude building a huge company, or inventing a revolutionary widget thinking, "damn, this is great, I can earn a lot of money for the government, so they can make the World a better place!"
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