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The problem with poverty is that people instigate it, not the environment or other non-human factors. It is the lack of things, the products and services brought by capitalism that classifies one as poor. It is the feeling of not having things that is the real essence of poverty. The irony is that people can be poor but not be hungry. People can fulfill the basic need of subsistence but due to the proliferation of consumer goods, they feel that they need to satisfy also the “wants”. On a grave note, sometimes the “wants” and the “needs” are intertwined. There are two ways to satisfy these, a) work hard for it and b) take advantage of opportunities to meet these, regardless of moral issues. The problem is, there will always be people who choose the darker path.
I know it is hard, almost impossible, but we have to be vigilant about the information we acquire from the external environment of commercialism. We have to guard ourselves from the “false prosperity” that the media sometimes display. We have to be selective of the facts that we want our lives to be based on.
It is already hard to attain contentment and satisfaction… but it makes it doubly hard when we are inundated with too much of material things disguised as “necessities”.
I’m not blaming the media nor chiding it, I’m just saying that it could be a source – and because its downside matches its benefits, it’s up to us and our human capacity for culture to sustain either one.
… So which is it?
Please visit Jay-R's Journal at www.greatergoodradio.com
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Jay-R Patron
Jay-R Patron, 24 years old, currently works as content provider for a multinational IT consultancy firm, under its interactive marketing department.
He was a writer for Hawaii-based Greater Good Inc., a media company behind the much-acclaimed Greater Good Radio. The show promotes social entrepreneurship and servant leadership.
Jay-r is a Journalism and Communication and Media Studies graduate from the University of Southern Queensland.
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