The first thing I noticed about the country was the amount of trash. Everywhere; on the side of the road, in dumps burning behind a market- all out in the open. In America, we hide our trash. We export our garbage and keep our lives looking very clean and orderly. Is that also a metaphor for the idea that we hide our feelings or hide information from our public? First world countries have the most mental illness in the world...can it be because we choose to not confront the trash in our lives? Instead, exporting it to a foreign nation.. A far away place inside our heads.
Here, their garbage is highly visible... Much like their social, political, and economic injustices. Poverty is a very visible fact. In the U.S. we tend to hide our poor. We paint murals resembling apartment balconies on buildings that border the South Bronx so that commuters have a more pleasant view on their way to work.
As far as altruism goes... It's a funny story and highly debatable. Can a person do something wholly and completely for a cause that is not themselves? Are we always striving to improve the self? By doing good and making it known to others, are we feeding our false center that is our ego? By doing good, we sometimes feel good after...is that a sin?
I once had a desire to tattoo the word arête on my body. It's Latin, I think, for one who strives for perfection with the humble awareness that such perfection does not exist. It's also the exact opposite of hubris. In our own ways, we're all trying to explain the human condition, aren't we? The idea that we think therefore we are. The theory that we are logical beings with the ability to use reason to solve our problems. The burden that comes with having a thinking mind. I guess we've all suffered some degree of our own idea of the human condition.
Suddenly, when we find out our lives aren't perfect, our feelings get hurt because we discover man's dark side. Immediately we have an instinct to create change. To FIX...it all. Me, just me. I... will FIX it all. So we jump from 1) perfect little life 2) Awareness of a problem 3) Thought: I need to fix this problem 4) Action. The misstep is 3, with the thought process beginning "I can fix it all." We, as individuals are only one person. One individual is capable of amazing actions, genius ability, and unbelievable heights. But one person cannot fix such complex issues with different levels and degrees of right and wrong... immediately after becoming aware of a major social/ economic/ ecological/ political problem.
This in fact, may be the human condition: that we are too quick to assume we have the power to turn shit into gold with the flick of a finger. These issues I speak of take years of planning, collaboration, brainstorming. Solutions are not easy to come by- but positive change is a more realistic goal.
A problem with many who grew up in a typical American society is that we live very comfortable lives...often times completely detached from some of the consequences of our actions. As soon as we see someone suffering we want to help. We want them to know the joy and comfort we experience in our lives. What's the most detached way to help someone in need of food, medicine, or shelter? Write a check.
We are terribly disconnected to the real problems... the built in problems of society. Issues of the third world and issues of our own. We don't see what's happening. We don't feel the effects in our daily lives because we live in a world where we are used to cause followed by immediate effect. In the U.S. there has been a delayed reaction. The more I discover about the world, the more I realize that what is happening now has happened before. But the major and life threatening problem we have on our hands is that now- there are more people on the planet, more resources being used at too fast a rate, more garbage being produced, and not enough water for the masses.
On a smaller scale, the issues we are experiencing right now have all existed in the past. But now we have the technology and data telling us that if we don't change the way we do things now.. there won't be much a future for any of us.
