Yeah, I second that. Disturbing…

I wonder if the US$500 spent by that German family included all of the beer and wine bottles lined up on the table…. As for the African refugees (and the families in Bhutan and Ecuador), the lack of pre-processed packaged foods speaks volumes about the quality of their diets compared to the junk-food loving “middle class”. (And if you were to publish their diets as a book in California with a catchy title, it would probably be a best-seller!)

Ny ex-husband was from El Salvador. $400.00 a year was the average income at the time we met. I, too, am disturbed by the photos. But keep in mind that everything is also relative. All of these families might consider themselves middle class and be reasonable content.

Where people make their mistakes with different cultures is in assuming they are dissatisfied with their life because we see theirs as substandard with regards to our own lifestyle. Contentment, to them may be measured differently. What determines quality of life is the ability to hope, live life free from oppression, and worship freely, have food, clothing, and shelter.

Many times more advanced cultures destroy indigenous cultures in an effort to help them “advance.” What is forgotten is change must be slow enough to allow those indigenous folk to adapt socially and not lose themselves in the process.

Making the tools available for better education and health care is in my opinion the better path. Maybe that is why I am so much of a”Star Trek” fan. I really believe if we had an equivalent of a “Prime Directive” that on an international level was strictly adhered to, many of the world’s problems would not exist. But, alas, greed the need for local resources, and good intentions all aide in blocking such an idealistic approach. Too bad.

As far as leveling out the playing field as so many of the world’s Socialists want to do, it sounds good on paper. But, millions have died trying to implement it. People need goals to achieve. They need failures to learn from. They need competition to motivate [at times]. They need hope to keep them going during difficult times. Socialistic Utopias are all devoid of these. They also allow more opportunity for th e evil and the greedy to seize control of power. There are no checks and balances. There is no real connection or input from the people governed!