No, my mind does not slow down. Not even when I sleep, I have crazy vivid tangled dreams. I am always thinking about this or that, flitting from one topic to another. That being said, certain topics focus me in like a laser beam, sharp and precise. One such topic is people. People who think only about the immediate.
The whole craziness about Haiti has brought my irritation with human nature to the surface yet again. Irritation that Haiti has been suffering through unimaginable poverty, political instability, uprisings, corruption for years and years. Despite it's geographic proximity to N.America, we still managed to not really "see" the problems. Then when disaster strikes people are appalled. Horrified. Upset. And so we should be. My big issue? 80,000 people would not have died, thousands would not be facing amputations, and the people would not STILL be struggling to access the foreign aid piling in if ONLY people had been more willing to HELP THEM in the last decade! If their poverty had been alleviated sooner, there would be better infrastructure and people would not live such precarious lives. There would have been more than one hospital. The rampant distrust of their government perhaps would be less and would not impede the aid pouring in.
Why must humans only act when we are on a precipice? When we are almost thrown overboard? It is like this with global warming, poverty, health crisis... we choose to ignore until something horrific occurs. And yet then we turn around and say why did this have to happen? Do you REALLY want to know why?
And then I worry that all the influx of money will help in the short term, but just like any other relief effort-- as the event fades in the news, so does the outpouring of support. Then where are they? Any further ahead than before the natural disaster? Further behind really with an even more desperate need for infrastructure and social and political stability to deal with the rebuilding. Will people still care in 5 years?
IF ONLY people realized that $5 tshirt comes at a cost. An environmental cost, a social cost, and international cost. Our relative 'richness' in N. America is dependent on someone else's poverty. Wow... i can buy this for a dollar? How much did the poor chap earn to make that crappy plastic dollar store item? Was it made in a country where there are no environmental rules, no labour safeguards? Could you tell that person you don't care about their poverty, their health, their situation and that you really NEEDED that $1 store crap more than they need a better life? Could you...
It is hard. Thinking beyond. Thinking about where stuff came from, where it will end up. But if people thought a bit more, maybe we won't keep waiting until we are on the precipice to make ethical choices.....
