Drea Knufken
Today is Blog Action Day 2008. Here at Business Pundit, we’re joining thousands of bloggers using this special day to talk about one topic: Poverty.
So. Ahem. Here’s my chance to launch a kickin’ day of poverty discussion, and what do I find online? That people are fascinated by labia reconstruction and Madonna’s impending divorce.
Predictable. I bet that a fair share of the world’s 400+ million chronically impoverished people would be captivated by those two seminal pieces of Internet news. That is, until they have to go find food or water.
Poverty is news today, whether people are writing about it or not. Everyone losing money in the stock market has poverty lurking in the shadows of their minds. When we stock up on food, avoid going out at night, and grow victory gardens to skirt high prices, we’re really trying to avoid one thing: Poverty.
Is it avoidable? Possibly. But it’s part of the human condition, older than Job and likely to stick around until humans go extinct. It has and will always be an issue.
The challenge for the people who have money–which include many poverty-paranoid citizens of the United States–is one of conscience: Should I give them some of my money?
Well, should you? Do you feel like you deserve your wealth? Do you feel the need to hoard it, lest it disappears? Do you expect to have it all your life, and know that poor people are just dragging you down?
Would you expect someone from a rich country to send you money if the tables turned?
Poverty is complex, confusing, and perpetually relevant. That’s why it needs to be blogged about, today.
