Monday, November 15, 2021

The Haves and the Have Nots

 Today, I overheard a conversation between two friends.  The speaker is not from our country originally, and her family is still 'back there'. Her nephew was diagnosed with rheumatic heart disease. The next step is taking him to a hospital, something the family is struggling with. The father works, but the mother's job is still shut down due to covid. 

I listened to her talking to her friend across the aisle, about how she could send some money, but it's a bad time for her as well, with the holidays coming and two kids of her own, and she already is sending money to her parents... She finished up, "I really hope we get overtime."

I guess what will always astound me is the differences in wealth. Something that we consider a small amount is lifechanging in a third world country. 

Made anything that I had to complain about seem very trivial. 

15 comments:

  1. There's nothing quite like perspective.

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  2. Thank you for this reminder, Debby. My son was in the Peace Corps in Mali and my 1st grade class would write questions to him about life there. They would ask questions like, "What TV shows do you like?" "What is your favorite movie?" "Do you like going to school?"

    Even though I told them that the children in the village weren't able to go to school or the movies or watch TV, they couldn't comprehend it.

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  3. There's much truth in what you say.

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  4. It's so easy to concentrate on our own problems and forget that people have far bigger ones. Great post Debby.

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  5. Sometimes we just need to stand back and take a good look at ourselves. We forget just how fortunate we are at times.

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  6. We don't have to look far to put our own lives in perspective -- sometimes we forget as others have said.

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  7. On a "finding out" trip to South Africa in 2003 with a bunch of other teachers from Sheffield, we found ourselves visiting a very poor woman and her grown up daughter in a tin shack in a shanty town. They did not have electricity nor running water. We had a whip round and gave them the equivalent of eighty US dollars. They both wept for they had been given the equivalent of six months income. It was like winning the state lottery. They were tears of joy.

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  8. I hope Americans finally get universal health care.

    When I was young I didn't understand how many immigrants support family back home.

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  9. Perhaps their is such a thing, but I've often have thought it would be nice if there was a person in touch with those in need such as Yorkshire Pudding described in which one could give money to and 100% of it would go directly to where it is needed. To many of the national organizations tend to keep too much of the money just to support the organization for my taste.

    I have taken up my mom's tradition of tipping a needy waitress/waiter during the holiday season with a $100 bill. It might not be a six month salary for them, but the joy in their eyes have always made my day, if not season.

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  10. Most of us live so well compared to so many both past and present.

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  11. Ed, that is the beauty of this. The Monet goes to a family, not an organization. Plus I am getting cooking tips. :) check out kiva loans.

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  12. Wealth disparity is deeply uncomfortable, and there is a lot of research on the impacts of 'relative poverty' where people do not have enough to play an active part in their communities. In truth, we have made great strides in alleviating absolute poverty in many parts of the world - though not all by any means.
    Here in the UK we are lucky - and certainly so in historical terms - to have a welfare system which though far from perfect allows for a safety net of basic care and dignity.
    We would find the idea of not affording health basic care to be very alien because our system is founded on the principle that care should be funded by all in proportion to their income and then provided free to all at the point of need. It is not perfect in practice but the principle is sound.

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  13. There are terrible stories about people who cannot afford their medication or even to see a doctor. Your principle is not only sound...it is humane.

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  14. It's true. We've all made light of talking about our "first-world problems," but the thing is, we really DO have it amazingly easy.

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