[Buddha-l] Scarcity of resources and Us v Them

[donna Bair-Mundy]

Aloha,
   Although I deleted the post, thinking I would not reply, I would like to 
respond to the notion that scarcity of resources perpetuates the 
us-versus-them dichotomy.
   If the post had said that resources are finite that would, of course, be 
true.  But I cannot agree that they are scarce.
   I remember taking a course in my undergraduate days back in the 1960s in 
which it was pointed out that the world (at that time) produced enough 
food to feed the entire human population.  What was lacking was the 
political will to feed the entire human population.
   I do not know the statistics of food production today.  I realize that 
farmers in some cases have turned from producing food to producing corn 
for ethanol production.  And the world's population has increased.  Yet I 
would suggest that if we had the political will we could feed every man, 
woman, and child on the planet.  Yes, there are obstacles.  Lack of 
infrastructure is a huge problem in many countries.  But if we (speaking 
as an American here) are able to drop a bomb on a mud-hut compound in some 
remote village in Afghanistan can we not get food to people in similar 
remote villages?  And can't a people who can manage to successfully 
deposit a robotic device with sensitive electronic communication equipment 
on the planet Mars get food to the hungry children of Appalachia?  We the 
People among whom obesity is epidemic?  Yes, obesity among the poor is a 
reflection of the poor diet available in their neighborhoods.  But obesity 
among the middle classes is at least in part a result of eating far too 
much.  And even so much is thrown away.
   The world has abundant resources.  The problem is that our tribalism 
blinds us to the fact that everyone deserves a decent life, with adequate 
nutrition, shelter, and education, free from exploding ordnance.  A child 
whose arms are blown off by a stray bomb is not collateral damage.  He 
is in fact _our child_ for whom we have not taken the responsibility as 
his extended family to protect and nurture.  When a child dies of 
starvation anywhere in the world it is to the shame of us all.
   And I say this as one who does not do as much as I should to prevent 
this.  And yes, I do spoil myself with an excess of material comforts 
while many children in the world are going hungry.  So much for living 
Buddhist values...

                    	Have a safe and joyful day,

 			donna Bair-Mundy, Ph.D.
 			Instructor, LIS Program
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