What does it take to awake compassion in us?

http://www.msf.org/

"Médecins Sans Frontières is an international, independent, medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, healthcare exclusion, and natural or man-made disasters."

These men and women have no political affiliation; they do not seek self-serving publicity, book deals, a reality series... fame, and fortune. For a while, they will give themselves entirely to the unfortunate regardless of race, religion, or gender.

Today 2 children are born. Because of circumstances, one will live a life of plenty, and the other a life of struggle; the first run in the suburbs of New York's manicured lawn and 2-car garage housing community, the other in a village in Sudan. Most of us just heard of

Sudan

when Darfur! Yet there, a mother is watching over her child, wondering how she will keep him safe from harm, starvation, and disease.

We are so desensitized to poverty, famine, epidemic, and violence. We are bombarded with them in our movies, shows, and games, which may seem unreal when we see them in the news.

During Bosnia and Rwanda's genocides, what were we doing while hundreds of thousands were massacred? Following the fascinating saga of President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky.

It is natural to feel helpless with so much misery and injustice. What can one person do? Where to Start?

We do not have to travel to Sudan or Chad to find misery and injustice; we do not have to sacrifice our comfort either to make a difference, and we do not have to be a Saint like Mother Theresa to do the right thing. Let's begin by skipping a 5-dollar Starbucks Frappuccino or a 7 dollars Burger meal a week. Would you miss it?

Know that those little things you are skipping here or there and donating to an organization of your choice will make a difference. Pick a cause and be its champion. No money? Volunteer an hour or two a week to your local organization. No Nobel Price will exist, but life would have much more meaning. You could honestly say, "this is why I was born."

So Get up, and look around; someone is waiting for you!

Comments

Martin Luther King and equal rights, what have we done since?

Would you have the courage to enter a segregated dinner, sit at the counter, and order? Would you volunteer to be a freedom rider and travel to the South to test the new laws and face angry mobs? Would you march and be ready to die facing an open bigot City Hall and police department? What have we done with the rights handed to us? Would you die for your beliefs like 37 -years-old NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers , murdered outside his Mississippi home, or like the 3 young students ( James E. Chaney, 21; Andrew Goodman, 21; and Michael Schwerner , 24 ) who had been working to register black voters in Mississippi . We are under the impression that slavery and segregation have been abolished. Is it? Today's Urban Cities are the new social and economic face of segregation. It is another way to separate those who have from those who have not. The new slavery is the hopelessness of the urban youth, the separation between poor urban public education and everywhere else. What...

2012 Mayan Calendar 'Doomsday' Date Might Be Wrong

This article should get some of us more rational regarding the big hype about 2012, Planet X, and Doomsday... being reasonable is the hardest thing to do when overcome with extreme feelings of fear, despair, or even rapture. So open your mind to the idea that it could all be a spook, and we will all laugh about it on December 22, 2012. Otherwise, would you want to be the one to clean up the mess that Doomsday will leave behind? Would you want to survive Doomsday? Leave your comment: The Mayans Never Predicted the Doomsday Before continuing, it's worth emphasizing that this mesoamerican calendar (used by several cultures -- including the Maya -- in Central and South America before European colonization) does not predict an apocalypse. It never did, despite what the movie "2012" told us . The Mayan civilization existed from 250-900 A.D. in the current geographical location of southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and some of Honduras. Archaeologists...

Photo Essays: " Pictures say more that a thousand words."

I have posted these photos and essays to illustrate my previous posts. Often "a picture will say it all." By clicking on the link: slide show... you will be redirected to the Foreign Policy web page. Thank you. Children at Work While many children are now enjoying summer holidays from school, others are toiling away in sweatshops. Amid the Great Recession, more parents may pull their children out of school and put them to work to supplement the family income. Slides Show: Children at Work The Battle over Israel's Settlements As Washington gears up for a showdown over Israel's settlements, settlers are taking matters into their own hands. Slide Show: The Battle over Israel's Settlements The Land of No Smile R enowned documentary photographer Tomas van Houtryve entered North Korea by posing as a businessman looking to open a chocolate factory. Despite 24-hour surveillance by North Korean minders,...

Facts Management.

Search This Blog