One rarely thinks that Eenie, meenie, minie, mo is a game to be played when looking at the global food crisis, let alone when staring into the eyes of malnourished children. Therefore when you're faced with immense amounts of people in need, but you can only help a few, who do you, choose to help?
The scale of poverty is global, while the dilemma however is becoming more local and even more personal, as illustrated in the Guardian article today; In a time of famine, who should be saved?. The article illustrates the Ethiopian nations growing disparity and almost seemingly prejuditual food price scale. The questions raised in a time when the food crisis continues to spread across the globe, thus leaves one to ask the very personal question; Could I choose who should be saved?
No one wants to be the savior so to speak, but the reality of it is you cannot save everyone…can you? It brings me back to my first time in Russia in the mid-late 90's, I was a struggling student I had surely seen people in need and begging on the street, but it was different, I knew they had no other option there was no pension, most I saw were elderly and disabled….and I began to give a bit here and there…all I could think of was how cheap it was (6,000 rubles to a $1, it was less than $3 to get a bottle of good vodka), then one day a friend stopped me and said stop, what are you doing you cant save them all and your going to run out of money over guilt. So I did I stopped, they were right I couldn't save them all. But if I had begun and had to choose one who would I have chosen? the guy with no legs or arms that marveled me just be the shear fact he managed to get around, the old woman who looked near blind with the small disabled child, the old man who tried to sing sweet songs but was never on key?
Thinking back I am not sure I could have picked and if I had begun that way maybe I would have never even tried to save anyone so to speak. So if I were lined up in front of a bunch of starving children would I be able to choose if I were forced to play favorites?
Part 1 of 2
