One year for Christmas, my extended family found it in the depths of their materialistic hearts to pool a fund that would be donated to a charity that would be pulled from a hat. The outcome-Greenpeace?? Really?!? Save the trees!!
Every time I hear Sarah McLachlan's Angel on TV, I know that people somewhere are calling the commercialized 1-800 number to give money to the "Save the Abused Animals Fund," otherwise known as the "ASPCA" or "American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals." Save the animals!!
Okay, okay! I'm not really anti-Arbor Day or anti-cute puppy adoption. Sure, the trees and animals are necessary for our survival, but what about those without an adequate home? What about those who are themselves abused? What about our future students? Do they really fall below trees and animals in terms of our care and attention? It is a sad realization, but I think they do. ('They' being the general American public.) If only we paid as much attention, not even money, but just attention as we do to the three legged-schnauzers, maybe we could make an impact on the effect of poverty and abuse in America. ...That, or we could make a nice video that forces the public to pity these children...I'm thinking Enya for the background music...Enya or Beyonce. Other suggestions for music selections??
If we're wanting to invest in something good, why not invest in our own future- our kids. I know that this can come off sounding cliche and ULTRA cheesy, but I really mean it. Instead of "outsourcing" or relying on other's to prepare our students, why not rely on the resources of others, but keep our commitment to the community we are in? This commitment requires our attentiveness to our students and their needs- not just material needs, but social, spiritual, physical, etc. The more we know about our students, the more we know about their needs.
Save the future!!
ED460 Personal and Social Well Being is a course taken by college students in education during their student teaching semester. Topics covered include: poverty, child abuse, bullying, drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, counselors' role in school, adolescents and choices, and the use of technology.
Shebibi, I think the background music should be sung by me. We'll have the other music majors play their instruments as well. Anyway...
ReplyDeleteI agree that our priorities are very skewed. People are ten times more likely to pitty a kitten than a child, and they can almost never tell you why. I think it's because people, American's especially, know they need to "Do something Beautiful for God," except one, they don't call it God; two they don't want to take on real responsibility. It's almost like student governments in schools. Sure, you can say they have responsibilities and are making a difference, but really there is no reason for them to be there. They just think it makes them look cool. The ASPCA, PETA, don't seem to realize that until we can raise children to be become humane adults, there will always be animal abuse. Again, we need to get to the root of the problem.
"Who can say where the road goes, where the day flows? Only time."
Excellent point, Shelby! Our priorities in America seem to be in all the wrong places. Treating animals better than humans is not a new problem either. In high school, I had the opportunity to read some of the accounts of the Roman historian, Tacitus. At the beginning of one of his books, he talks about how people in Rome were treating their pet monkeys like children. Tacitus commented on how backwards this type of treatment really was. The Roman Empire fell not too long after Romans started mixing up their priorities. We need to start thinking about how we are treating human beings and start giving them the proper respect that their dignity requires.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100%. I believe a lot of the time the "general American public" think that helping the animals is more important than supporting their own race because animals can't think and fend for themselves using their intellect. This is a major issue. Another possible reason for the lack of commitment to our own race is the bystander effect. Maybe people think that enough money and care is being poured into charities and what not for people who are impoverished, abused, etc... So, with the thought that others are taking care of the charities and other organizations supporting the welfare of people then they can give their money and devotion to other organizations. I agree that supporting those other organizations is important but taking care of other people should be the first priority on everyone's list.
ReplyDeleteYou've made such a good point, Shelby. Sometimes when I am involved with fundraising for rugby or any extracurricular activity, I find myself thinking, "I can't believe people are actually giving money for this, there are so many more pressing issues in the world that need help...right now"
ReplyDeleteWhile it is hard for us to drop everything else and focus only on whoever or whatever needs the most help to get basic survival necessities, it is important to remember what the real issues are and how we can help.