Today is Blog Action Day 2008 and the theme for the day is Global Poverty.
I'm afraid I only became aware of this event last night and for all of my thinking today I can't really come up with a post that would do justice to the issue. In fact, the words that keep popping into my head are "Poverty of Spirit" which of course has very little relationship to the very real problems of financial poverty which face so many of the world's population.
In spite of my lack of relevant inspiration for the subject I am mindful that the purpose of Blog Action Day is to generate thought and discussion so I'm hoping that just drawing it to your attention is enough to get us all thinking about poverty, maybe discussing it, just maybe being inspired to some form of action........
Before I really get unbearably preachy I'll just share a couple of good quotes about poverty
The poor are poor because the rich are rich. ~Author Unknown
We have grown literally afraid to be poor. We despise anyone who elects to be poor in order to simplify and save his inner life. If he does not join the general scramble and pant with the money-making street, we deem him spiritless and lacking in ambition. ~William James
Hey Special,
ReplyDelete'The poor are poor because the rich are rich' - an inspiring quote and one that I feel is very true. It seems that nowadays, the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing and increasing, at an alarming rate. Poverty exists in all countries of the world and it is something, that unfortunately, I think can never be eradicated, but as a world, I'm sure we can do something to alleviate the widening gap - but the biggest question of all is, how to do it? I think that whatever the world decides to do, will be a good thing, but not everybody can be helped. I know this sounds very negative, but I also think that it's realistic - however,if the world can make a difference to just one person, then we're moving in the right direction.
Lovely, thought-provoking post sweetie.
Love ya lots,
Peej xxx
Hi Kylie,
ReplyDeleteThank you for bringing Blog Action Day 2008 to my attention and reminding me that there are others in this world less fortunate than myself.
How to rid the world of Poverty ...do you alleviate poverty by acting upon the following premise? -
"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime ..." - English proverb
I would because that would be a very effective way of alleviating poverty.
Organisations like the Red Cross and World Vision help the poor and give them some dignity by empowering them to help themselves.
In the world now there is the possibility or rather the probability of a world wide recession. I reckon that the next quotation from "David Copperfield" succinctly enunciates the current global financial crisis -
"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pound ought and six, result misery." - Charles Dickens, David Copperfield, 1849
You mentioned that the words "Poverty of Spirit" keep popping into your head...
You are either thinking about, The Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Saint Matthew -
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them." - Matt. 5:3
or you might be thinking of -
MAN DOES NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE
"He made you go hungry, and then he gave you manna to eat,...
"He did this to teach you that man must not depend on bread alone to sustain him..." - Deut. 8:3.
Mark xo
peej :)
ReplyDeletei think it would be possible to help everyone, or nearly everyone, but it's probably unrealistic in the face of human nature being what it is.
and i have to agree that whatever we can achieve has to be better than nothing
you're complimentary as usual, a great quality :)
love
k
hello mark,
ReplyDeletei was thinking of the words poverty of spirit in relation to a particular circumstance and now realise that i was looking for meanness of spirit.
there was most likely a reason for my error though, so i'll have a closer look at the references you suggest.
your suggestion of the saying ".....teach a man to fish...." is a wise one
it reminds me of the philosophy of micro loans. there are fantastic results achieved with that.
bless ya
k
Hi Kylie,
ReplyDeleteThat same sort of thinking exists here in the USA as well. Poor people are considered deficient in ambition, morals, or intelligence. It's a strange statement tho to say that 'The poor are poor because the rich are rich'. I'm not much of a class warrior. Maybe the poor are poor because done enough together to bring opportunity to the people who need it most. For some reason, Opportunity and Hope are the most endangered things in the world. Fortunately those are things that we really can do something about.
Best wishes,
Skeeter
This is the first I have heard of this day. Your having posted this information is a start and has inspired some discussion about poverty.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the current state of the U.S. and soon the world economy is looking really poor. Poverty may be a word we hear more and more of in the days to come.
Thank You.
i have abit of a different take on those things... haveing been homeless, addicted to drugs and unemployed....
ReplyDeleteeveryone has it in themselves to pull themselves out of poverty by their boot straps... to make in their own lives a better place, wheather it be in their hearts, home or lives they have it inthemselves to change for the better...
G'day from Melbourne - thank you for the visit, the comment and the recommendation.
ReplyDeleteDo keep in touch. Cheers -
hey skeeter,
ReplyDelete"opportunity and hope are the most endangered things in this world" is so elegantly put. i hadnt thought of it that way so i'll have to mull it over a bit but certainly the lack of hope and of opportunity conspire to keep people poor.
i chose the quote "the poor are poor because the rich are rich" not so much because i think it is entirely true but because i think that often times the rich get to be that way at the expense of someone else.
i might be sretching things here but that quote reminds me to keep in mind "there but for the grace of God go I "
finally, i'd be interested if you expanded on your idea that we can do something about hope. it seems to me that hope is often a choice that we can make or not, how do we get people to make the choice for hope?
thanks for contributing, i'm enjoying this....
k
hey csi,
ReplyDeleteyes, poverty might soon be with many more of us and i hope that we can all rise to the challenge. i'd like to see dignity in the poor and compassion in the better off
thanks for stopping by
k
IV,
ReplyDeletefirst, kudos to you for having the guts to change
next, you make me curious. we hear so much about the cycle of poverty, what broke the cycle for you?
why did you decide to pull yourself up by the bootstraps?
if i remember right you did time?
why didnt you go back to jail when so many do?
and do you believe in trying to help people out of a bad situation or do leave the full responsibility with them?
thanks for commenting!
k
g'day david,
ReplyDeletehave a good weekend
k
Sounds good to me, Kylie. It's one of those truths about things really. When it comes to profiting at the expense of others, wouldn't it be great if more would follow the golden rule - “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Matthew 7:12)? I really like that passage. Thanks for giving me a chance to share it others.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes,
Skeeter
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteAny Biblical concordance I have noticed has loads of references to the word poor used in a manifold number of ways.
Cheers,
J