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Environmental awareness part 1
Namaste Everyone,
April 22nd, Earth day, is a day when most of the people share their
concerns about the Environmental problems that are occurring all over the
world. HSC has also recognized that there are Environmental issues that
needs to be resolved. As a family, I think it is crucial to discuss
on at least one of the Environmental problems that each one of us is
concerned about. Then the next step is to plan an action that each
chapter can take on Earth Day. I will be sharing with you some of my
thoughts from time to time. This to give you a general idea of some
of the Environmental topics you may decide to discuss. However, every
thought and feeling I share with you may not just be directly linked
with the Environment. Some of the articles, or better all the
articles can be linked to politics, economics, public relations etc.
The idea is to sit back and think how each environmental issues can be
applied to the different fields of study. Don't forget that the
articles I write are only my beliefs. Others may share different
views and beliefs.
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THE CONCEPT OF THIRD WORLD
Poverty is the first thing that comes to peoples' mind when they are
asked to define the so called "Third World." The response is not
surprising since our country is influenced by the media everyday.
Some of the questions that come to my mind are: How can a country as
diverse as United States be influenced by the media everyday? Is it
because the people are ignorant? In contrast, how do the immigrants
from "Third World" define their own country?
The photographs used by the media are aimed to appeal to Americans.
When they see the photos of starving people, mostly of children lying
on the streets begging, they become sympathetic. The captions under
the photographs not only describe the dilemma and problem, but also
make it seem as if the whole country was suffering from the same
problem.
According to the views of the immigrants from the third world
countries, the media are biased against other factors relating to
their country. Immigrants (for now let us assume that the immigrants
are from India) feel that their country is the most beautiful place on
earth. They will not deny the fact that there are many starving
people, but will also state that it is also a place where they are
given the most freedom. Living in scarcity and the simplest way
of life, they never have to worry about receiving thousands of bills
each day.
The communities in the Third World are also strong. Most of the people
have strong ties with their neighbors. I think it is also fair to say
that people also know most of the other people living in their
community. Neighbors are usually willing to help out other neighbors.
Where in United States do we find a good dependable neighbor? Our
communities are based on individuality. Everyone is out for his or
her own interests. It is very clear that United States praises
Darwin's theory "The Survival of the Fittest."
"The rich are the poorest and poor are the richest." This quote was
told to me by my mother when she was telling me the story of Krishna
and his devotees. The moral of her story was that most of the
devotees of God are usually poor, because they pray more than the
rich. In this way, we can also relate the story to United States and
country like India. United States is considered to be one of the
richest. Americans (sad enough to say that it also includes all of
us) have everything that money can buy. We have cars (in most
families more than one) to travel from one destination to another. We
have washers and dryers to save us from getting back aches and lot of
food that we can afford to waste. However, when we also see the
statistics, United States has the highest rate of divorce and domestic
violence. Most of the people (in developing countries) have none of
these luxuries. In fact, what they do have is extended families who
are loving and caring. They have the love and support which we lack.
Dhara Parekh
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