How often do you stop to think about how blessed you really are?
I fear that this generation will be the most ungrateful one yet.
Teenagers alone will waste enough food to full the state of Texas.
Death 29,000 Children alone die everyday of hunger, or hunger related dieses (.mostly preventable and treatable causes such as diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, measles or malaria). That’s 1,058,500 year. About 15 kids every minute of every hour, of everyday. Over 800 every hour. In famished Countries 91 children out of 1,000 die before their fifth birthday.
12 million people die each year from lack of water, including 3 million children from waterborne disease: 1.1 billion lack access to clean water; 2.4 billion live without decent sanitation; and 4 billion without wastewater disposal.
The worst earthquake in modern history killed 242,000 people in China in 1976. Hunger kills that many every 12 days
There are villages in India where 85% of the families have experienced the loss of at least one child
Malnourishment
More than 840 million people in the world are malnourished-799 million of them are from the developing world. More than 153 million of them are under the age of 5
Chronic Under-nutrition, Malnutrition, Malabsorptive Hunger and Seasonal Under-nutrition account for over 90% of all hunger-related deaths, whereas famine accounts for less than 10%.
My youth group is about 50 people strong, only 20 of us took part in this event and were able to raise 2,000 for Food, around 1,800 meals.
If every 2 out of 5 people did this hunger and malnutrition would be eradicated almost completely.
Have you ever felt the pain of hunger?
Around 15% of my generation will starve themselves to make themselves look better. 20% will order too much food at a diner. 80% will “snack” on the same amount of food that most villages have to share for day/week. 90% feel there cafeteria food could be better. Only 3% think of less fortunate people when they eat. 60% of people in America claim to be too busy to help. And 80% claim they can’t afford it themselves. Of the 6.2 billion people in today's world, 1.2 billion live on less than $1 per day But poverty is a whole other issue. Over all, most Americans with jobs will ignore the issue all together. And most teens will not even care enough to lesson.
We need set the example. We need to be more active in helping the hungry, we need to get involved. Print out one of these people you see here and attach it to your refrigerator, or over your trash can.
It breaks my heart think about this. To think that so many selfish people don’t care about someone else’s suffering. And to think that these people are suffering the way they are. Are you going to be starving before you care?
How often do I think of other people...everyday. I would appreciate you not making generalizations about what horrible people teenagers these days are...My best friend and I (neither one of us are very athletic...) walked 6 miles last weekend and collected over $100 to help starving people. My biggest worry is that I cannot help everyone. Leave me alone.
All of us are ungrateful over something or other. Were not perfect, but all of us should make an effort to help. People and their excuses. We have 12 hours in the day and 12 hours at night. So somewere in between those 24 hours we should be able to find time. Everyone or mostly everyone can at lest donate a few cents everyday. Is it really that hard? -DWR
Ours is not an ungrateful generation...its certainly not korith u are mistaking lack of awareness for ungratefulness. they are 2 different things and u surely can't mistake the two...... i mean in my country india, itself there were reports as recently as 2 days ago of farmers ending their life as they didn't have enough harvest to live even hand to mouth..families and families of people in my country actually die as they have nothing to eat for days on an end. i mean the height of irony was the fact that last year our national grain storage had excess of food when people in some states were eating grass and mango kernals as a whole days meal.. my heart goes out to them but sitin at home and tryin to help doesn't change anything in the grassroot level.... things like that happen the world over and yes we are very lucky to have what we have..
one more thing i don't understand reading these boards is the fact that people drag religion into such an issue as this one... its the height of irony and immaturity. what really matters is that even if we can't change anyones doomed destines we can at least help for our own personal satisfaction.....
u have apoint there madpuffinkeeper.......[
quote:
Qoute"Like I said on messenger, Korith, me eating is not going to feed the hungry. It's not going to solve anything. I may not be grateful for food, but I am grateful not only for the opportunity to have it if I want it, but also for the freedom to choose not to eat it. "
Grateful?We will be...Maybe it's not the generation,it's just the age,we all go through our youth and act immature,carefree,apathetic or even cynical for some time.Is it really that we don't know how lucky we are,or we don't help? I hate it when I whine about little things,I hate it when I waste food,time and money,I hate myself when I realize I shouldn't be that way,and I regret,but later on I may be bothered by trifles again.I remember back in Junior school,my tag was "I don't care".I know I need to grow up.Honestly,it doesn't work telling me how hard some people's lives are when I'm not satisfied with mine own.
Here,older people complain about how ungrateful we are,and tell us the life they went through(unlike the rest of the world,in China,the life has changed greatly in the past 25 years,and the young kids are mostly the only child in the family,spoilt and overconfident.The problems with today's kids are always the issue here.)The parents' experiences sound like from another world to us,which made them different persons,I thought we really had a problem.But I find out that my 20 year-old counsin is now telling me the same arguments as her parents told her before,she changed,and she's expecting me to change,too.I guess one day I'll be blaming my younger counsins of wasting food and showing her this kind of pictures as well,saying "you're the most ungrateful generation"...
I'm a junior in highschool. When I look at all the younger kids even in the junior high and elementary school grades, I can't help but notice how rotten and rude they are, and that when my class was their age, we were a lot better behaved and a lot more intelligent. I swear, analytical, there's a huge difference between the way my class was in JH and the way theirs is, even in a difference of only a few years.
Does anyone else know what I'm talking about? It's a big problem here. The younger kids swear and dress ****ty and have little cliques and stuff, and my class didn't have nearly as much as they do when we were their age.
I'm shocked, because I can't help thinking what terrible messed up kids are going to be inheriting the U.S., if this kind of thing is happening anywhere else.
Please post if anything like this is happening in your city.
Not everone can be better off. We're just lucky. We can make ourselve feel better if we get over to some of those unluckier places and help those people. But we can never help everyone. But some is better then none. --ShadesOfGray
Trying doesn't matter. Stalin tried to help Russia and look what happened. Unless material outcome is better than the previous state of things, it's a waste of time. That's the reason it's a bad idea to give aid to those who won't take advantage of it.
I just said Africa because I didn't know which part it was, hoping that people would know what I was trying to say.
When I say half the countries, I mean some of the countries seriously need our help while others are just too lazy to provide for themselves (which is not 50/50, but it's the two classifications I have in my mind). I'm not singling any country out here because I'm too tired to do any research about it.
Here's an example to try to explain my reasoning: It's just like at school: some kids seriously don't understand the work, therefore they do badly; other kids are too lazy to do the work, so they do badly. It's the same general concept, if you know what I mean.
I never use a few examples to describe a whole. If I ever say something that generalizes like that, I don't really mean everyone. I usually mean the majority or the majority of the whatever that I've heard of. It's just stuff doesn't always process from my mind to my mouth/fingers.
Sorry for causing any misinterpretation.
I don't think world hunger will ever go away either. I think we are trying, and that's what matters. But, the problem with our helping is that help isn't always getting to the people who need it.
Yet people live there. Las Vegas is flourishing now. How do they manage to survive? They are part of America, so we wouldn't let the whole state die. Even if ont enough people want to gamble, the US military will always be willing to oversee emergency distribution of food, medicine, etc. like they did in the Dakotas after the floods in spring of '98 or '99 (I forget which). But if we still operated under the system the Articles of Confederation established, NV would be foreign a=to the rest of the US and we wouldn't care. Globalization will make other people willing to do for Ethiopia what the Union makes other Americans willing to do for NV or the Dakotas.
quote: Half the countries that are starving we have tried to help, but they ruin our attempts or do something foolish. Look at Africa. The blacks kicked the whites off the farms so they could have "their" land back, and now they're all starving because those blacks who retook "their" land don't wanna work it. Why should we help them if they aren't going to help themselves?
You're generalising too much here… Zimbabwe isn't the whole of Africa. And when you say "half the countries" do you mean half or are you embellishing on the truth?
It could be argued that some 3rd world countries rely so much on Western aid that they aren't so motivated to improve conditions, but it's hard to see how they could, some places just aren't cut out to be economically successful.
In general it seems you're picking on a few examples and use it to represent the whole.
I think there's nothing wrong with trying to help, although you do have to make sure you're using a reliable charity.
However, I don't think world hunger is ever really going to go away. There's always going to be hungry places, places where social/economic/climate factors are bad… We're lucky to live in the 1st world.
There are places that could improve though. It's a good thing to try to alleviate it.
Me being grateful for the cereal I had this morning won't do anything to give starving people food. And taking concrete action to help those who are starving doesn't necessarily signify gratitude for my fruit loops. The two topics are unrelated. I'm not singling anyone out, but a certain crator of this thread has acted the whole time as if he thought they were.
Anyone here who though I was attacking Puffin can bite me.
I clearly was not.
I was referring to anorexics who starve themselves for fear of getting fat, because then they think they would be ugly.
You want to throw all anorexics in 1 big boat, then that your mistake.
I am tired of everyone trying to twist my words around on me.
Eat food will not make starving people live, duh!
The main purpose of the thread is ungratefulness. Not eat food when you can, FOR THE ONLY PURPOSE OF TRYING TO IMPRESS PEOPLE WITH HOW THIN YOU ARE, is ungrateful.
I singled NO ONE out. If anything I am the one constantly being singled out!
Anyone who read what I said without looking for a way to hang me with my words could clearly see what I meant.
My parents have stopped donating to Christian "charities." The bad ones keep the money for themselves. Some of the money and stuff that is given to the poor from the good ones is kept by the poor country's government.
Half the countries that are starving we have tried to help, but they ruin our attempts or do something foolish. Look at Africa. The blacks kicked the whites off the farms so they could have "their" land back, and now they're all starving because those blacks who retook "their" land don't wanna work it. Why should we help them if they aren't going to help themselves?
Korinth, lay off of puffin. Like she said, her not eating isn't going to affect world hunger. It's not like she's wasting food or eating more than her share. Besides, it's making you look bad.
We can only solve so many problems at once. Hunger is a big one, but we can't help anyone unless they are willing to help themselves.
If you are looking for ways to help end hunger, check out http://www.thehungersite.com. You click for free and they donate food to the hungry. They also have sites for breast cancer, child health, rainforest conservation, and animal rescue. Love to all, Jen.
What you said about anorexia is way out of line...I've never been anorexic; neither have you. Puffin has. Who do you think is better equipped to judge whether or not it's right or wrong or real or all made up. That's right: Puffin.
Yeah, go puffin! Anorexia's not hurting anyone else...
Anyway, to my point: Korith, instead of promoting things which you know most of us won't do if we're as selfish as you claaim, why not something that would be in our best interests AND help the starving people. It takes a lot more grain to produce a hamburger patty than to produce the bun. And vegetarianism takes off those extra pounds we Americans are all putting on, thus leading to better health and appearnce. So why are you not promoting that instead? Then there's more veggies to go around! Plus you'll get a lot more people to do what you want by not belittling them with all your posts.
Like I said on messenger, Korith, me eating is not going to feed the hungry. It's not going to solve anything. I may not be grateful for food, but I am grateful not only for the opportunity to have it if I want it, but also for the freedom to choose not to eat it. I know that doesn't make sense to you, but it does that mean you have to judge me without even trying to understand? The truth is that you don't have a single ******* idea of what I've been through or why I do what I do. And if you think what I'm doing is so wrong, well I guess you're blameless, because you've just cast the first stone. And look, Dauben's going to join you. Thanks a lot, Doug, for finally showing your true colors. I'm not interested in talking to you on AIM anymore. I don't care if you have an opinion I don't like, but when you reduce your bantering to personal attacks and insult me for my illness I will not submit myself to sit here and listen to it.
quote:To put it bluntly, it shouldn't be my tax money going to someone who doesn't make the choice to eat; ya, ya, ya, it's a disease, I don't know much about it, but everyone has an excuse for everything.
1. Since when do I receive your tax money? 2. What if I don't want my tax money going to people who do make a choice to eat? Or just anyone who's a single pound overweight? 3. You don't know much about it. That's the only truth I've heard out of you today. 4. Excuse? What is it that I'm using anorexia as an excuse for exactly? Why don't you explain my situation for everyone, Joey, I know I'm dying to hear it. 5. You must think a lot of yourself to ignore the medical community in favor of your own unenlightened viewpoints.
And finally, we all know what you think of the private sector. And the religious sector. And not all of us communists think that complete privatization is a good idea.
I don't care if you have a differing opinion. I don't care if you want to tell me about it. But don't treat me like a lesser life form for not agreeing or supporting what you have to say. And don't attack me for a psychological illness, however genuine it may seem to you, that I have tried so hard to overcome. You don't know what it's like want to go out for pizza with friends or just eat meals with your family, and not be able to because you have paralyzing panic attacks when you so much as think about eating. Until you gain some understanding of what that's like, keep your personal attacks to yourself.
[This message was edited by YNLissa on September 15, 2003 at 04:38 AM.]
Christ Joey, you're even worse! If the founders knew the solution to all our country's problems, we wouldn't have any problems! If they had created a perfect world everyone would've realized it and kept things the way they were. But there is no perfect solution. Capitalism has some advantages, "socialism" has others. Although the world's never seen socialism because the very concept of the nation-state is hostile to it. The reason socialist policies get mixed with capitalist ones is that in some cases it's better to have the advantages of socialist policies and put up with their drawbacks.
Furthermore, on the subject of Christian charities: Bibles don't feed starving kids. I wanted to donate to a couple Christian charities once, seriously planned on it, but then I did some reserach and found that they spent more money on Bibles than food! For God's sake, if you want to end hunger, you need to give the people food, not a book! Mother Teresa was much more effective in her charity because she obey St. Francis' exhortation to "Preach the gospel at all times and use words if necessary." So far Catholic Relief Services is the only Christian "charity" I've seen that isn't corrupt as Hell. I'm surprised to find myself saying this because I don't exactly get along with Catholicism very well. But it's true. If we're going to go into the business of handouts, the government will be much more effective at it. Governments have the power to get money through taxes, which as much as you may not like it is sometimes a necessity. And since poor people tend to donate a much higher portion of their incomes to charity while rich people keep it to themselves, this is the only way to get significant amounts. In addition, governments can raise build infrastructure, teach, etc. And whereas a Christian charity would have to obey if an authoritarian government interferes with their work, the US gov't has the CIA. Meh, if charity organizations worked 2,000 years of pious Christianity would've solved world hunger. Charities have an even worse history of failure than Communism. There's a lot more which I feel needs to be said on the topic, but I'll stop b/c this post is too long now. Gloabalization will do a heluva lot more to help this world than your preciuous charities.
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