so, i was busy earlier this morning. not doing things that i ought to be doing, as a student. but rather, i was kicking back, and eating breakfast and scanning news sites, vimeo, and non-profit organizations. sounds pretty nice. thus I began my day.
however, i found that the more I listened to, and scanned pictures and uploaded videos, the more appalled i became. On NPR, for example, I was listening to Melissa Block discuss the corruption of the bond system in the jails. apparently, the bail bond company keep people in jail (mostly in there for non-violent criminal offenses-stealing blankets, for example) for as long as 100+ days because they cant pay their bail, which seemingly leads to a fat pay check for them. i mean, the bond guy in texas practically admitted it, in not so many words.
as a californian, i am already aware of the jail system crisis, and listening to this new segment on texas frustrated me so much, i skipped out on the rest of the program and went to another news site.
naturally, the New York Times was worse, bringing me updated information on Haiti, about the thousands still untreated and dying. and then of course theres always the israeli-palestinian conflicts, the people still cat-fitting, and fence-hopping over there, to accomplish some agenda or another.
i went to Vimeo after that, watching segments about human rights in Iran. the protests from last year are still getting comments from supportive viewers.
site after site, no matter what it is, there seems to be some sort of unstoppable crisis. invisible children, child slavery, communist regimes, theocratic dictators, oppression, poverty, disease, dirty water, no water, self-mutilation, earthquakes, typhoons, droughts, fires, and it goes on and on and on.
and where am i in all this? eating food, in a temperature controlled room, with a desk loaded with my valuables, listening to music, in my warm clothes. boy, guilt was driven like nails into my heart.
living in america, it seems that we were given the lucky privilege to sit out on the bench and watch everything happen for our entertainment. which, you could argue is great. no one gets hurt. no one you know, that is.
but, for me at least, it blows, because even if i wanted to really get my hands dirty in helping clean up the mess in this world-which i do-i cant. education, monetary funds, timing, it all has to coincide. no matter what i wish i could do, theres no way that i can go off tomorrow morning and help fight for human rights in Iran, or hold a hurting child in haiti, or even stay over night out of my dorm room.
i wish i could do more, when looking at the badness and pain in the world, than sit and stare.
its like your hands are tied behind your back, and good intentions are left to wait until theres time enough to do the impossible. such restrictions are a tragic result of wealth and circumstance.
but i think more than anything, its just really sad to think of so many other people that are hurting, hungry, lost, and...we're here, just "living life to the fullest", and stuff. not that success or anything that we endorse is bad. contrarily, i believe that we should really do the best we can with the blessings God has given us. but to forget our brothers and sisters while keeping our focus on ourselves, and money and other stuff like that, thats where we have to be careful.
this is just a quiet, disappointing rant. nothing that will change lives or anything. i just wish that we could do something more than watch the news, or give money to charity, to feel like we've partaken in the happenings of the world.
Two of my favorite quotes from the day:
ReplyDelete"...we were given the lucky privilege to sit out on the bench and watch everything happen for our entertainment."
"...good intentions are left to wait until theres time enough to do the impossible..."
I saw a picture in Newsweek today of a man in Haiti holding his dead baby daughter. I couldn't stop staring at his face. Such sadness and loss were etched there, and his eyes were staring straight into mine. Sitting on the bench can be rough. But we do need to hold onto those good intentions until we can use them, I reckon. Best not lose that if it's all we have for now.
Dang girl, good points. sometimes we can do some things, but its still so little. we can't do all things, so even if we help somewhere, there is still so much we can't help. Its like starting a lighter in a warehouse size freezer, it won't heat the place up, but it does provide a little glimmer of hope.
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