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We are spoiled beyond belief.
- Nov 10, 2008 at 10:46 AM
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- Comments (58) Total Views (1701) Everyone can see this journal post.
It seems nearly every time I watch Sesame Street these days, Grover visits Africa and they show the clip of the wretchedly poor children attending school. It breaks my heart every single time, and I think long and hard about how easy we have it here in our country and how badly we take our conveniences for granted.
The clip shows a woman with her baby strapped to her back, waking her young daughter up for school. The child has slept on the floor of a hut, and washes her feet from a bucket and then cleans her teeth with her finger from the same bucket. Her mother hands her lunch, a small amount of food wrapped in paper. Then the child walks barefoot to school, where dozens and dozens of other children are all crammed into one room and taught by one teacher. They learn to write using chalk and small pieces of blackboard. They are eager to learn.
The children do not have expensive, safety approved playground equipment. They jump en masse for fun. They wear worn clothing and few, if any, have shoes. They don't have nutritionist-approved meals in the school cafeteria, or computers in the library, or teacher aides or overhead projectors or textbooks or school budgets. They don't have the luxury of being finicky about their food.
I wish Americans would stop being such spoiled bitches about everything. Whine, bitch, moan and complain. We are so oblivious to how other people live their daily lives elsewhere in the world. We are petty and selfish and self-absorbed. We are luckier than we'll ever know.
A child watching that clip on Sesame Street may not realize the depth of poverty it portrays, but an adult should, and it should make an impact. One Christian phrase that always has resounded for me is that "if not but by the Grace of God, that would be me." Apply that sentiment to your own personal spiritualism or philosophy and it will go a long way to refreshing your compassion for those less fortunate.
Comments:
I saw that. I was in tears! What he ate for lunch, is what I eat for a tiny snack! It makes me so sad, because my 2 year old daughter wastes so much food. Food that children in Africa are dying to eat. Ugh. I wish I could personally do more.
And, I agree. We complain about EVERYTHING. I was taking a hot shower the other day, and after 10 minutes of scalding hot water I started complaining. I just stopped myself mid sentence. People in Africa don't even have one drop of hot water. They have cold water. We are all spoiled brats.
Great post, great thought, great wording. Thank you
So true. I wish more of us would see it this way.
My grandparents grew up that way right here in the U.S. and they turned out fine and happy. Big whoop. AnitaVersion2.0 Nov. 11, 2008 at 2:14 PM
Wow Anita I can see that big heart of your swelling with love and compassion for your fellow man. Never mind appreciation for what you have!!
LOL I can be realistic while still appreciating what I have. I don't want to live like my grandparents, but NOTHING that was mentioned is actually all that bad.
it always makes me shake my head about our family being considered BELOW poverty level
yet we have a roof, food, HUGE television, computers, etc.
I live my life with that quote in mind. Always have. It serves me well and allows me to serve others. Glad to see someone else get it :)
wow, im just not watching enough Sesame Street lately.. sad.
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You are so cool, Joye :) Did you know that? This was a good journal post, my friend. Thanks for writing it. It is so very true. We are so fortunate to live where we live and have what we have.