As I think of Haitian citizens hustling recyclables to pay tuition, buy food and take care of their families … and see the impact that an amount as small as $27 can have on one family, I’m humbled by how damn myopic we have become here.
Where are you now? Skimming this at home with Folgers in your cup, or perhaps over a designer Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks? Are you getting ready to finish an assignment after you’re done reading my semi-emotional rant on your iPad or perhaps your latest Droid? If so, you have to admit: being American spoils us. Even in the midst of an economic recession, we still have the esteemed privilege of taking quality of life for here for granted. We can toss away $25 just in coffee per week, while two women struggle to hustle $27 for tuition.
I don’t mean to be so presumptuous. Perhaps you, the reader, are more culturally sensitive than I’ve ever been. Perhaps you’ve already understood that Americans take too much for granted. We’re more concerned over the outcome of a racist NBA owner getting fired than global outreach to find the 234 missing girls abducted from school in Nigeria, who have yet to be found … than figuring out what happened to a missing plane that vanished over 2 months ago … than finding ways to uplift our own who need help in this country instead of being judged by race, creed or sexuality … As a result, you are already a conscious global citizen reading this and going, “Well, duh it’s about time.” Excuse me for my sudden prompt of conscientiousness.
For those of us who haven’t been so, well … empathetic to the world around us, I’m appealing and asking that we open ourselves up to be so. Here in the United States, food, water and overall economic potential are within almost everyone’s grasp here in the United States, even if it takes hustle. Even when we fight unfair disadvantages – sexism, racism and intolerance of religion or sexual preference – we have the ability to make our way out much more easily, or help others do the same. Way more than we give ourselves credit for. Even our education is provided for. But we don’t see it. Compare us against other nations – like the glaringly obvious nation of Haiti, considering their circumstances – and you can’t say the same.
I’m reminded that, right here, in the U.S., things aren’t perfect for everyone, but there’s so much we’re taking for granted. School is mandated and provided, no tuition necessary, unless you decide to invest in it. Recycling is provided in several cities and trash is picked up and handled through municipal taxation.
I check my bank account balance, consider my expenses and thank God that after my bills are paid, I have $27 that could go to bless a Haitian family in need. I can also brainstorm ways to encourage better recycling and waste management in places like Haiti, where such initiatives not only preserve cleanliness, but provide opportunities for education in a child’s life.
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