While I tend not to let my personal views on the world and politics in general come into this blog, sometimes things need to be said. My apologies in advance, then, to anyone offended by this post.
As a business owner, the current financial state the world economy finds itself in is obviously one that concerns me. My business helps to feed my family, pay the rent and bills, and generally lets me live a reasonable life. Not luxurious by any stretch of the imagination, but reasonable.
Yet despite this, I can’t let it monopolize my thoughts when there is so much more wrong with the world. Nor should you. Have we really come to the point where all we care about is the fast buck and how quickly we can make it? Are we so blinded by greed that the color green is the only one that matters?
According to the CRS Report for Congress, The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11, the US Congress has approved $864 billion for military operations. $864 billion. What do we have to show for it?
A world more dangerous than ever before. A global economy that has been ripped to shreds by false wars over oil, not terrorism. Poor leadership from the people that decide our lifestyles. Millions of people losing their life savings when mega-corporations go under, while the CEO’s of these businesses disappear into the sunset with bulging bank balances. Is this the world we want? A world driven by the love of money?
Thankfully there are people who care and want to make a difference. People who continue to bring the plight of others to the world while others so easily forget. Plights like the ongoing crisis in Darfur.
While the Western world was trying to convince itself that Bush was right and Iraq was a threat, a genocide on a massive scale was about to begin. Now entering its sixth year, it’s believed that as many as 400,000 people have died in Darfur since the crisis began, with more than 2.5 million forced to flee their homes to escape the terror.
Think about that. While we’re happily throwing more billions into a war we can never win, our governments are cutting funding for the aid packages that Darfur desperately needs. In fact, in the first three months of this year, the World Food Program’s Humanitarian Air Service received no funding at all. The result – more than 100,000 deaths in each of these months.
While recent news about Darfur is encouraging – the Senate has passed a resolution to continue to look at ways to end the conflict – it’s possibly too little, too late. Particularly with the way the current administration places a value on things.
After all, while Congress is happy to allow $864 billion to be spent on broken promises and lies, only 6% of that amount has been set aside for aid packages to rebuild the countries we’ve destroyed. Even worse, less than 1% of this amount will go towards the veterans of the wars.
Do you really think an administration that places more value on the war machine over the destruction it leaves and the crippled it creates cares about a third-world country?
Do you really think that an administration that wants homeowners and taxpayers to get it out of the financial black hole it created – the very same homeowners and taxpayers it’s making homeless due to rising foreclosure rates – will give a sh*t about a conflict that has no relevance to them because there’s no oil at stake?
So yes, there’s an economic meltdown at the minute, and the Western world could be in for a very bumpy ride ahead. But you know what? It’s happened before, and it’ll probably happen again. And while it’s soul-destroying at the time, people that have lost their businesses have started again and made an even bigger success of themselves.
The people of Darfur won’t get a second chance. Not while we continue to be lost in the non-importance of our own little world, worrying because we only made so many thousands of dollars last month. Life is so hard, huh?
So forgive me if I don’t become too concerned with the state of our economy at the moment. Forgive me if I’m not driven by pushing my business one more rung up the corporate recognition ladder.
Yes, I want my business to be a success. Yes, I want to look after my family, friends and loved ones. But just how much money do I need to be really happy? And honestly, can I really be happy while another child dies in a country that no-one cares about? Can you?
- To learn more about Darfur and how you can help, visit Save Darfur.
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