|
Watching the Oprah Show, The Taboo Topic: What Social Class Are You Now? you'd think that being "degraded" from middle social class to lower social class is the worst thing that can possibly happen to someone.
"I never had to deal with being poor. It's humiliating", said one guest who dropped in social class and is now living at poverty level. Another who had lost her job bemoaned not being able to wear her corporate suits and do her nails anymore. A couple said they can no longer afford to treat their friends to dinner or host lavish parties, since they dropped to a lower social class.
Granted. The economic crisis weighs heavily on people's minds but someone -- anyone -- please tell me I am not the only one who sees something so wrong with this ridiculous concern for socio-economic class or lifestyle?
With 250,000 Sri Lankan refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) caught in the war between the troops and Tamil Tigers facing ‘"very critical' circumstances; and hundreds of thousands Sudanese refugees from the strife-torn Darfur region barely able to just keep alive -- that's just the tip of the refugee problem -- you'd think worrying about socio-economic class or lifestyle would be the last thing on people's minds.
Do people even watch The World Affairs Brief or listen to World News or sit down and actually study a newspaper and figure out what's going on in the world around us?
Are we so detached from the rest of the world that we are largely unaffected by most of what goes on globally?
Are we really this self-centered, self-absorbed, self-indulged, self-obsessed and self-celebratory that we perceive, understand and interpret the world in terms of the "self"?
Are we so preoccupied with our own emotions, interests, or situation that we're lacking in concern and empathy for the pain and suffering of others?
I am not trying to make anyone feel bad or saying people should be ashamed of what they have worked hard for. If there is anyone who came from nothing to something -- and I mean nothing as in poorest of the poor -- count me at the top of that list. I know what it's like to literally lift oneself by imaginary bootstraps. I sometimes work 16 hours a day and know people who are doing the same thing. I deserve everything I've earned.
Would I like having more money? Of course I would, but I can guarantee you this, if I do make more money I wouldn't spend a dime on fancy shoes or clothes, cars, plastic surgery, and all the "stuff" that people get all excited about. And if I lost even the little money I have, you'd never catch me worrying about what socio-economic class I belong to.
Does that mean that I am a perfect example of concern and empathy for the pain and suffering of others? Absolutely not! Although well-meaning, there have been times in my life when I was not curious about a vast range of matters because they didn't interest me much, because I had little or no incentive to learn about them, and because I felt that I almost had no chance of changing anything or actually determining the outcome of anything.
Every day I am learning that I can actually make difference in the world by being more curious and keeping up with world events, and by acting on my global citizenship through activism and critical cross-cultural relationship building.
There are so many things each and every one of us can do to help make the world a better place. The strong starting place is to know how we affect what goes on globally and how what goes on globally affects us. The next small step is to stand for something that affects someone else other than you and yourself.
Our world could use a little more less-self-centeredness, self-absorption, self-indulgence, self-obsession and self-celebration. Make someone else's ‘"very critical' circumstances the focus of your attention -- for a change.
|
tweet this!
