Awareness

So I know I said that I had a lot to do—like catch up on work and study for my exams, but I can’t break the habit of updating my blog. Plus something extreme has happened this week, and I would like to give my opinion on it. So first let me just say I am calm about my exams. I have a plan of what I am going to do, so it really does pay off to be organized. Also, I am done most of my culminating activities, so I am good to go. So earlier this week I had to write about Thich Naht Hanh for my Peace Studies class. He spoke about awareness. We should live our lives in the present. So that got me thinking and now I am quite the peaceful person thanks to that class. I have also had an epiphany and now I will share an article with you.

So I am pretty sure if you turned on the TV at all this week, there has been a lot of focus on Haiti. That is in cause of the massive earthquake which had a magnitude of 7.0. It originated in Port-Au-Prince, and affected the rest of the Dominican Republic. There is presumed to be 100,000 people killed from the quake. Canada is sending about 5 million to help out the Haitians with the devastation. Other countries are taking part in helping. Here is what I don’t get. Even though this was a natural disaster I feel that we waited for the worse, until acting. In my reading about the Buddhist monk Thich Naht Hanh, he spoke about prevention. When being mindful we act before the situation becomes an emergency. In this case, Haiti was suffering from poverty, despair, slavery, devastated economy and infrastructure, military based government. Haiti has been calling for help for a long time, and now that the country is literally destroyed we now act. I think that the countries should have acted sooner, we could have repaired the buildings, and made them earthquake resistant. The buildings which were present were made poorly, and out of the cheapest materials. I am not saying that since they are acting now that it is bad. I think it is wonderful that so many relief foundations have been created, and that the countries are sending help and supplies. Since America and Canada can be so rich, we as citizens can indulge in so many privileges, we should have helped sooner. This actually leads to my next point about obesity.

Another story on the news which caught my eye was obesity is proving more of a problem in North America than smoking. That’s right. We have more obese people than smokers. How is it possible that we can overeat, and there are children which go hungry for weeks on end and even to their death. It blows my mind as a society; we are focused on wealth, and greed. It’s even more outrageous because fast-food (I like to call it “FAT FOOD”) allows obesity to be so easy. Have you seen the McDonalds menu? They have items for a dollar. Talk about targeting the financially conscious. This government is not taking care of its people. As obesity begins to rise, prepare to pay more taxes. It makes me upset that we can buy iPhones, and have half-a-million dollar houses, while some in Africa live in shacks. Think about the next time you participate in a privilege.  The fact that I have this computer and I am able to write this is a privilege. When you eat a burger, think about the 55 square feet of rainforest which has just been cut down to produce that quarter pound of meat—and the $5 you could have used to save a child from starving. Do not overeat. It’s not healthy.

I apologize for the “intense” article I just wrote, but I really needed to share this. When you are at the age of voting, think about what the candidates are saying. If they are focusing on solving the structural conflicts we have right now, then they are a good choice.