"If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following. There would be: 57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south, 8 Africans; 52 would be female, 48 would be male; 70 would be nonwhite, 30 would be white; 70 would be non-Christian, 30 would be Christian; 89 would be heterosexual, 11 would be homosexual.
Six people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth...and all 6 would be from the United States. Eighty would live in substandard housing; 70 would be unable to read; 50 would suffer from malnutrition. One would be near death; one would be near birth.
One would have a college education. One would own a computer.
One would have a college education. One would own a computer.
How could the wealthy 6 live in peace with their neighbors? Surely they would be driven to arm themselves against the other 94...perhaps even to spend, as Americans do, about twice as much per person on military defense as the total income of two thirds of the villagers.
When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent."
-Philip M. Harter, MD, FACEP, Standford University, School of Medicine.
wow. that's crazy. i couldn't agree more though. it's ridiculous how selfish we are and how much money goes into military efforts. that don't always help anyone. it bothers me so much because if everyone had more trust, between nations i mean, and we could respect each other and help each other, then we could put all our resources into helping those who need it and making real progress, rather than just continuing to fuel the machine. i wish there was more i could do. and i wish more people wanted to change.
ReplyDeleteYour Blog is so great! I think the pictures a brilant idea. I write stories based on true events, I have many pictures that go with the plot lines. I had so much trouble with putting them on my Blog. Do you have any tips or sugestions for me. Forever greatful!
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