MOD EDIT:
If you need to post something for yourself here--like weirdo5000 (who apparently has no other means of saving written text), then this is the thread to do it.
I realize that we have a somewhat younger crowd here (I can say that because I'm closer to 40 than I am to 30 now), and school work is a part of your daily lives. Feel free to post whatever related to school here. Just keep in mind that--if you post a question about some general studies topic--you're posting it on a modeling forum. While the interests and knowledge here are, indeed, diverse; they may not be exactly what you were looking/hoping for. In short, you get what you pay for. 
Folks are welcome to discuss what's posted here--as long as it's in this thread, and as long as other Forum rules are adhered to.
Thank you.Virus of the world
“But, you must not eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for if you do you will surely die. The serpent was more clever than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. You can be sure you won’t die, God knows that when you eat the fruit of that tree, you will know things you have never known before.” -Genesis 2:17, Genesis 3:1 and Genesis 3:4-5. With these words man ate the fruit of knowledge and when they did, they discovered reality; reality beyond Eden. One reality that haunts the current world is poverty. Poverty is one of the biggest problems in the world, not just in the third world countries, but in every one. Ever since the creation of coins and currency there have always been the rich and the poor. This schism has created many problems and attitudes of those living in squalor and those living in comfort. The common people should help those in need of help, for people are not the wild animals God made, people are humans; given a soul and brain to decide what’s right and wrong as well as what’s moral and what’s inhumane.
Poverty is everywhere, no matter how rich a nation is, there is always someone in that outstandingly, powerful nation that sits without money, huddled in the street or apartment thinking about if they will live to see the dawn of the next day. According to Institute for Research on Poverty, there are 36.5 million people living in poverty in the US in 2006. The population of the US is about 303 million people in the US currently.
Now, 36.5 was 2 years ago, imagine the amount living in poverty now, and that’s not even the world. Most people know that poverty is the biggest problem in Africa and when people think of poverty they think Africa. Not the case, poverty is a virus that has infected the whole world, according to a story called “Growing up in a Dump” about a 14 month old boy’s life in Mongolia, “The town of Erdenet is a four-hour hike. Just a few hundred metres from the homes, pigs drink gray fluid from the toxic waste pool, filled continuously by a sewer pipe connected to the copper mine. Endless mounds of garbage fill every visible corner.” It is hard to imagine what life is like for those living in these conditions, while the more fortunate live in heated houses, drinking clean water. On the opposite side of the world in Wales children have also been diagnosed with poverty as well. According to an article by the Children in Wales on the effects of poverty in an End Child Poverty and Shelter, Child Poverty, Housing & Homelessness Briefing Paper, “A mother and her one-year old son came to Shelter because they had permanent coughs and colds caused by the damp in their flat. The walls and windows were black with mould. The mother could not leave her child’s cuddly toys out in his room, or they would be covered in mould.” Children are hit the hardest by poverty. Unlike adults, children’s immunity systems and bodies aren’t as built up. The CIW article also says that children born in poverty commonly have lower birth weight, high infant mortality as well as poor health compared to children born in better conditions. Gang violence? Gun violence? Illicit Drugs? Most of the reasons that people perform such actions are because of poverty. Again the CIW article proves its point, “The areas most affected by crime and poor investment in infrastructure are the very areas where the poorest children live and are brought up. Being a victim of crime can have a more devastating effect on people on low incomes because they may not have home contents insurance.” As stated previously poverty is an infection, a virus that plagues the world and prevents it from functioning to its full potential. If the world doesn’t find the solution to this virus, it will infect the populace in an instant.
The biggest excuse people use in regards to not helping those in need is “that’s not me, why should I care?” This is the worst excuse ever, of course this is biased, but to not help someone in need of help is equivalent to denying them of life, especially for the people of America. Recall the Preamble of the Constitution, “promote the general Welfare” for those who don’t know what general welfare is; it is to provide for the poor and less fortunate. Stop for one second, become that individual living in poverty on the streets, surrounded by gangs and drugs. There is light, but that light is very far away. The brain was given for more than calculating taxes, reading words, and basic motor skills. The brain was given to imagine. Now, put the imagination to use and think of the Make Poverty History Institution’s Haitian girl and her adopted son, “She knows the dirt rubs his skin raw, but she doesn’t have money for detergent or new clothing or shoes. If he doesn’t get new clothes soon, the dirt will continue to eat away at his skin, causing open sores that could easily draw in deadly typhoid fever bacteria common in the local filthy river, his only source for drinking and bathing water.” Conditions such as these stab at the mind, making anyone wish they could help, it results in the feeling of pity and remorse; pity for those living in such filth; remorse for being unable to help. Another reason to help, for more stingy people, is money. As taxpayers know welfare comes out of everyone’s taxes. In other words, by eliminating poverty, it will eliminate the welfare tax; enabling everyone to make more money. All in all there should be no excuse as to not helping those in poverty, for there is no excuse for being the beam of hope that lights up the day for others.
Finally, in order to get rid of poverty there needs to be a solution. According to The Future of Freedom Foundation, the one and only way to halt poverty in its tracks is for the governments themselves to stop the war on poverty. The foundation also stated, “The only way to raise standards of living is through the accumulation of private capital, which makes people more productive. And the only way to bring capital into existence is through savings.” An example would be, a worker who uses tools will make more products than a worker using his hands. Therefore if the boss saves a portion of income for buying tools for his workers, the boss of the factory will be able to crank out more products every day. Again, The Future of Freedom Foundation states another solution to poverty, “To rid the world of poverty, then, would entail at a minimum the following steps: the repeal of income taxation (including here in the United States), minimum-wage laws, restrictions of business enterprise (that’s why it’s called “free” enterprise), restrictions that prevent people from entering into mutually beneficial trades with one another, and all government welfare, including for the rich and middle class.” To government officials, this might seem a bit staggering. However, it is necessary to help people rise out of poverty. This in itself will pay for most of the damages dealt by corruption and crime (the population will be happier, the need for stealing and killing wont be needed anymore. Illicit drugs aren’t needed as alternatives for mental depressions and stress).Despite all these solutions, the best way to help the solution to poverty is by doing things from the bottom of the heart even if there is no personal gain involved. In the Australian Philosopher, Peter Singer, Singer’s Solution to World Poverty article Peter cites the Brazilian film “Central Station”. It is about a retired school teacher who has the potential to earn 1000$ by coaxing a 9 year old homeless boy to follow her to a certain address. She eventually gets the money by delivering the boy and buys herself a TV set. However, soon she finds out that instead of being adopted the boy was going to have his organs cut out and sold for transplantation. Dora, the school teacher, decides to bring him back. Though this is a relative fantasy situation, it proves a point. What if Dora just said, “Forget about him, everyone else has a new TV why shouldn’t I get one?” Anyone saying these words would be viewed as a monster, someone without feelings and a heart. The article also states that 1/3 of the income in an average US family goes to things not needed to live. Again, the best solution to poverty comes from the heart. There is no greater way help the poor than to volunteer out of the goodness of the heart.
The common people should help those in need of help, for people are not the wild animals that God made, people are humans; given a soul and a brain to decide between what’s right and wrong, and what’s moral and inhuman. Poverty is everywhere and the world needs to be rid of it. Opposing viewers might think otherwise, with statements like “It’s not me, why should I care.” However there are plenty of reasons why to care. Finally, there is only one solution to poverty; the kindness of the heart that makes humans human. God (or Satan) opened the eyes of humans to the truth of the world a long time ago. Poverty is a virus, a virus that contaminated the earth thousands of years ago. Yet it has been overlooked like one overlooks a minor stomachache, and if it continues to be overlooked it will consume the earth and its inhabitants.
