This post was originally published on November 14, 2011

Cutting Our Feet From Under Us
 

This weekend, I watched the documentary: End Of Poverty? and there were several things that stood out.

• In Bolivia, water was privatized to the point that collecting rainfall was considered illegal (thank goodness the people revolted and ran that company out of the country).

• Most countries in the southern hemisphere are not economically independent–heavily saddled with debt that they will never be able to pay back.

• People die in hospitals while waiting for family to scrape money together for their care. These victims are not even treated until they show the hospitals the money.

• Violence usually increases when there is a gap between rich and poor.

Which brings me to today’s post.

I’ve sensed a change of climate in the States over the past decade. We all heard the news reports of the wealth gap, and how the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.

Hence the reason for the Occupy Wall Street movement that has spread across the country.

But what it really feels like is that there are no more rocks to bleed elsewhere. So now, the knives are turned on ourselves.

Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed. ~Mahatma Gandhi

• More Americans are sinking into poverty each year.

• Millions are out of work.

• The highest types of jobs that are opening are in the service sector or part-time (which does not equal the pay that most Americans lost).

It just seems like a precedent has been or is being set for the future generation–our children’s generation.

I can look at a documentary about another country and say “that’s a shame.”

But the reality that we live in is that Americans are being replaced as the consumers–corporations are making their money elsewhere. Jobs are being moved elsewhere, and opportunities are shrinking.

All I know is that my daughter’s future is at stake as well as all children’s. I know it must sound like all doom and gloom over here, but I think it’s natural for a parent to wonder about the world that our children are going to inherit.

What’s more important is the attitude that we show to our children about our feelings of people being exploited. After all, if we are okay with it, then they will see nothing wrong.


 This post has been added to #WorthRevisit linkup hosted by Theology is a Verb, and Reconciled to You.

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