Hmmm..

by Erik Snyder
[Erik is a product of Texas A&M University, College Station. He currently resides in Austin, USA.]

I’d like to share something with y’all.

You see, I’m one of those crazy people that are always kvetching about the suffering of the poor, or mad about the war in Iraq and Central Asia.

I’m sure most outsiders would assume that America is just filled with belligerent, arrogant, uncaring people who just itch for a fight. Well, that perception isn’t without some merit, but I assure you it is wrong as a general statement.

Just like everywhere else in the world, we have our share of good people and bad people; reality is never black and white, it is shades of grey, shades of blue, shades of red, more shades than there are shades of complexion of all the people who call this country home.

I’m one of those fools that cares about people a little too much; I can’t help it, and I won’t ever change it, and neither do I want to do so. I can’t explain why I care so much. It’s really ironic, because I frankly have such a cynical worldview, and I’m definitely not a social butterfly. I find most people annoying, whether they are American, Indonesian, Japanese, Columbian, etc. Yet I feel real pain and anger when I hear about people dying. Go figure.

And there are a lot more like me. I’m sure most of them aren’t as cranky and cuss-mouthed as I am. We all want the best for our family, our friends, our countrymen, and the whole world.

Let’s be honest.
99% of the world’s problems are due to the actions or inactions of other people. Even with natural disasters, most of the problems happen because of laziness, corruption and a lack of caring. There isn’t a single humanitarian disaster in the world today whose real core problem isn’t greed, corruption, or apathy.

Sure, life ain’t fair. True, death is a natural thing. It’s a truism that suffering usually builds character. But there is so much needless suffering.

In this crazy world, it’s true that poverty actually hasn’t done much to stop overpopulation. You’d think it would…And then there’s the other side of the mirror…how is it that I, the American, always assume that it is the poor man in the Third World who is causing the overpopulation? Is a rich person’s life worth more, and are they exempt from the same need to control the size of the population? Obviously, the answer is ‘no’, and yet the reality is that society acts like the answer is a resounding ‘yes’.

Oh Lord humans are a mess! They are stupidest race of animal ever to walk the earth, killing and maiming each other for petty and selfish reasons, destroying their own home planet with ever-accumulating industrial poisons…and yet still I can’t bear to see the needless suffering.

And I’m not the only American who feels this way.

[Erik can be reached at quelisto@yahoo.com]