Too much comfort?

I came across this image on the front page of 2005 news paper, and it made me wonder why, we the citizens of the united states, don't do very much to help other nations in need. The more I think about it, the more I begin to see the reason why we disregard it.

The average American/family has approximately one to two cars, a house, but more importantly food on their table. We have clothes to wear, multiple pairs of shoes, and we even find crazy ways to do our hair (Which could be a $15 weekly investment). We paint our cars, we remodel our homes, yards, sometimes even a second home. We have swimming pools, because it is more convenient to walk too our backyard than it is to walk to the lake. We spend about $4 a gallon for gas because life has become overly dependent on commuting to earn a living.

Many people would say, "So? I work hard, I went to school, earn a living for myself and my family, I earned all of the things I have. And because of my hard work, I deserve every bit of what I have".

So what's the problem? Earning a modest living should be much respected. Right? The problem here is that, we as Americans are so into our social constructions of, go to work, earn a living, come home, feed the family, sleep, do it again, etc, that we seem to forget how we got here in the first place. Almost all the people in the United States have a history of immigration. We all have a home away from home and we shouldn't forget that. If it wasn't for a leap of faith one may every well still be back in a poverty strucken country, where finding food is scarce.

All of these are signs, that signifies how we as Americans have grown too comfortable with our luxurious living and would rather spend that extra dollar at a fast food restaurant rather than donating it to a child of need, who on one dollar can have several meals a day in a poverty strucken country.

Everyday we throw away food that are still good while many children around the world frantically scurrage to find some.

Many people will say that "we should focus on the poverty in our own country before we go around worrying about others". However we seem to neglect that the majority of what we consider, poverish, in America, has at least a roof over their head, one t.v(colored)., a car(that runs), clothes, and food. It may not be up to the standard of a middle or upper class family but it is definitely more that what many 3rd world countries have.

I'm not writing this blog to convince anyone to change their views, I, myself may not even contribute right away, as of today, tomorrow or even in the next year. The only thing I am asking is that we should give this subject a thought. I know I have.