Tomorrow is Cake Day. 5 years ago when a friend of mine noticed on his calendar that World Food Day coincided with the execution date of Marie Antoinette (Oct. 16, 1793) he decided that we should eat cake in honour of her alleged statement* "No bread, why don't they [the poor] eat cake?"
And so that is what our social group did. We ate lots of cakes, wearing homemade shirts inscribed with the date and the words "Let Them Eat Cake".
As each years' celebration has gone on - each with its own shirt - the event has become bigger, and sadder.
Sadder, because some 200 years after the dethroning of the French monarchy who were infamously out of touch with their starving people, we remain largely ignorant and out of touch in the "western" world about the plight of so many who survive on basically nothing.
Sadder because some 200 years after the abolition of the slave trade people are still in slavery.
Sadder because so many people in the world don't know what cake tastes like, and have not tasted their "daily bread" for quite some time.
Sadder because in a world we refer to as a "global village", where people live DOES decide whether you live of whether you die, no matter how loud rockstar-activists sing that it shouldn't
Today is Blog Action Day and the theme this year is poverty.
Poverty is a symptom of two great spiritual diseases of our planet: selfishness, and greed.
Selfishness and greed because we benefit financially because others don't. Goods are cheap because people are paid poorly, food is plentiful for us because it is not for others.
We cannot just assume that by throwing money at a third world country, poverty and hunger are going to go away. We need to start realising that resources - including food - are finite, and to share the wealth around, we need to have less!
So this evening, as I ate cake with friends in anticipation of more cake tomorrow, I swallowed uneasily, thinking of all those who don't look forward to tomorrow, and the 26500-30000 children under 5 who died today simply because they were too poor
"According to UNICEF, 26,500-30,000 children die each day due to poverty. And they “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.”#
Just now, I tried to read the above to my husband, and could not finish the last quote as I was emotionally overcome.
Poverty is such a huge problem (half the world lives on less than $2.50 a day and 80% on less that $10) that it is easy to be overwhelmed and turn away.
But I refuse to turn away. I choose to do more than cry about the fact that some people have nothing, I choose to donate, to advocate, to give of my resources and time to help those less fortunate than myself.
And most fundamentally, I choose to consume less and to consume wisely.
Be Informed, Be Aware, Be Alarmed, Be Active.
*except she didn't say it - this statement was originally attributed to "a certain princess" by Jean-Jacques Rousseau 20 years before Marie Antoinette's birth....
#http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats
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3 comments:
Why do people always try to take advantage of others?
Is this really the root cause of poverty?
And if it is, what can we do about it?
I like your post. I think you make a good point here but it just gets me more upset. I’ve read nearly a dozen poverty posts today and I haven’t found any real answers to erase poverty for good.
There are things we can do. But what can we do about selfish and greedy people who take advantage of the poor and downtrodden?
It upsets me too.... so much that sometimes I wish I could be ignorant. But I don't think that's going to help!
The most fundamental answer I have to your last question is simply not to be selfish and greedy ourselves.
And to raise children and encourage those around us to be unselfish and generous also...
Hi Sugarpuff,
I agree. We can act in kindness and model that for our kids and our students. That is what I try to do. Sometimes it doesn't feel like enough though.
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