Warning: If you just want to hear about my experiences in China and not about my opinions on global issues ;) you may want to skip this.
I am in the middle of the movie "Blood Diamond" and it really breaks my heart, especially to see the young children who are trained to be killers. It's times like this when I realize just how privileged I am, despite any problems that I think are SO important. It's so random to think about...I (and everyone) could have been born absolutely anywhere. I was so lucky to be born in the United States, even though I did absolutely nothing to "deserve" it. It's times like this when I want to do international work, when I realize that the people suffering could very well be me or someone I love who did nothing to bring this suffering to them- they just happened to be born in a different area than me. Even being here, I look at all the privilege that we have and it just shocks me. Why me? Why did I happen to be born with this advantage? How can people not see that we're all the same, we're all people- some of us were just born in different circumstances than others? You may say that we, as Americans, worked hard for what we have. In a sense, that is definitely true. We do work hard and we get paid for it. However, I could be working just as hard in Africa (or wherever), or even working harder, and I'd never be at the place I am now. It's so overwhelming because there's so much suffering in the world and where do you even start? I don't think that's a reason not to try, though, at all. Imagine if one person was able to save your life or your family's life, and how much that would mean...if I only help one person, than that will be incredible.
I just have a hard time understanding how we have these man-made lines that we call "countries" and we fight with one another over...what? How is that any different than a board game children might play? I'm not talking just about the US here, although we do it, too- I'm talking about all governments. Why do we make everything so difficult for one another? It's like picking teams in PE. Do we never grow up?
OK, that's definitely enough idealism for today and I'm sure more than most people want to hear. ;) Really, I just wanted to say how blessed I am to have been born in the US and to say Happy 4th of July! I don't want to feel bad about what I've been given, I just feel very lucky for it and hope that I can use my advantages to help someone else. I hope everyone enjoys it and has a wonderful time, and also remembers how lucky they are, too.
