Perspective — homeless people helping Haiti, and I am offered free food
Every now and then we’re reminded that, despite the state of the economy and lots of people struggling to make ends meet here in the United States, we’re still fortunate. Beyond fortunate, compared to many parts of the world. On the local news last night was a story of homeless people at Ridge Avenue shelter in Center City Philadelphia organizing a donation effort to help people in Haiti. As one of the homeless men noted, unlike many in Haiti, he had clean drinking water.
At work on Wednesday, a man was walking through the hall and stopping in every office. He was carrying a box full of wrapped sandwiches. He knocked on my door and asked, “Want a free sandwich? We have turkey or vegetarian.” A new sandwich shop was giving away samples — a free lunch — so maybe people would know about their business and like their food and order from them in the future. I had packed lunch that day — a peanut butter and jelly sandwich — so I declined. I turned down free food. Someone had offered me free food. We live in a place where sometimes people want to give us food for free.
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Everyone has seen that bumper sticker “Live simply so that others may simply live”
That is crap.
While nearly all the world has a modest standard of living compared to ours they are mostly dependent on OUR consumption to put beans and rice on their own table. As the US struggles the world starves so it is morally imperative that we continue. In other words, live lavishly so that others may simply earn a living.
My only point is that sometimes or often people don’t realize just how good they have it, especially in tough times, and sometimes they are reminded of it. What being reminded means to them is what it means to them. I try to teach my son to have an appreciation for the life he leads, understanding that in terms of material wealth and comfort, in comparison to the entire history of humanity, we have it very good. Appreciating it does not have to mean apologizing for or feeling guilty about it, nor does it imply anything, on my part, about what role our consumption plays in anyone else’s standard of living.
It’s true, I’ve seen living conditions in some countries that would shock most Americans.
Our country is not perfect, and life can be challenging, frustrating and demanding, but to paraphrase an old saying, to have been born in America is to have won in the lottery of life.
Very good post Scott. I agree with you that appreciation for what we as Americans have does not mean we need to apologize. As you said though, its good to remind ourselves, especially when we hear people whining about not owning a new car or needing a bigger house, etc, that we really do have it pretty good. As many smart people have said, true happiness comes when you allow yourself to be content with what you have rather then to continually seek happiness. Of course that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop trying to grow my business, just means I’m going to be happy while I’m doing it. :-)