Work and Self Reliance

displays the intensity of extreme independency, to the point he dies but unlike many others, he

In the article “Lifeboat Ethics: the Case Against Helping the Poor”, the author Garrett Hardin raised the question that whether the rich countries should help people suffer from poverty. He claimed that the supporting strategies for the developing countries, including the World Food Bank could result in more severe recourse inadequate issue and other disasters. In addition, a large number of immigrants flood in the US could ruin the natural environment and social balance. In that case, the author argued that regardless of the current situation, privileged nations should not provide aid to people trapped within difficulties of the underdeveloped nations. Even though, his

Garrett Hardin, who wrote “Lifeboat Ethics: The Case against Helping the Poor” gives us his central metaphor of a lifeboat. It tells us if we put too many people in our lifeboat, it will sink and everyone will die. Harding believes that this metaphor is appropriate because despite our prosperity our resources are limited. If the United States were to help poor countries, we wouldn’t leave any for the United States, we would just put ourselves in a situation to ensure that we become poor like them. The potential number of impoverished people in need of our help is unlimited, especially if we keep helping them.

It is unfortunate how often we hear about a disaster occurring in Africa. From civil wars in Somalia and Congo, famine in Yemen and viruses spreading through Liberia, people associate Africa as being chaotic, violent, corrupt, and incredibly poor to the point many Americans still believe animals freely roam in the cities. Naturally, many people and organizations feel the need to bring order and peace to the continent, by policing it, spreading the word of God among the natives, or provide resources such as food, water, or money. However, most people never take the time to learn of African culture and traditions, or understand that some Africans are content with what they have and how things work. We label them as being poor because they do not match our preconceptions of happiness, as we believe living comfortably with others leads to happiness.

What are some issues that threaten the immediate stability and balance of the world? War? Nukes? Global Warming? Economic fluctuations? The answer is none of the above. All of these are admissible issues, but they don’t come near to the immediate impact and effects that accompany world poverty. An estimated three billion people live on less than $2.50 a day, yet there hasn’t been any drastic actions taken to counteract this predicament in a sustaining manner (Shah). However, writers such as Peter Singer and Garrett Hardin are doing a stupendous job bringing this topic into the spotlight. Both “Lifeboat Ethics: the Case Against Helping the Poor,” and “The Singer Solution To World Poverty,” offer insight to this serious issue. Both authors

Throughout history, less fortunate people around the world have been ignored. Only a few have stood up and have devoted their own time in order to help these people through strong faith. It’s time to take initiative, make a change in the world, and do more for others than we do for ourselves.

People are suffering all around the world and are desperate for the help of those who can provide it. We as Americans can't even begin to comprehend the problems that people of Uganda experience in their daily lives. The struggles that they face derive from the fact that “51% of the Ugandan population lives on less than $1 a day” (Katie Davis Speaks). Many of the people in Uganda are uneducated and therefore unable to obtain jobs, resulting in a massive unemployment rate in Uganda. Without a job, it's nearly impossible for them to get the money they need to support themselves, much less an entire family. Most do not have easy access to some of the most basic necessities, such as food, water, and shelter. With poor living conditions and health

“Forcing people to be generous isn 't humanitarian, effective, compassionate or moral. Only acts that are truly voluntary for all concerned can be truly compassionate.” – Harry Browne. Sadly the good humanitarianism would not reach Africa until some thousands were killed by the greed of the Europeans. Europeans wanting to explore Africa for their personal gain should not have used the excuse of humanitarianism to justify the true act of imperialism that was happening in Africa because, many European countries want to “win the race” of being the first to colonize unexplored Africa, Europeans saw Africa as having an unfathomable amount of natural resources, and Europeans wanted to spread Christianity and “save” the people of in Africa.

On October,19,2017 I watched a Ted Talk Called “ Dangers of a single story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. She spoke about her life in Nigeria before she studied abroad in The United States of America and the dangers of knowing 1 side of the story this is also known as ‘Bias’. After watching Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Ted talk, I believe not everyone in Africa lives in poverty, stereotypes in Children 's books cause unrealistic ideas of reality and the media fabricates news to generate views and labels specific groups of people.

In America, millions of people are reported to be living below the poverty line each year. To be exact, in 2014, about fifteen percent of Americans, or forty-seven million people were considered to be in poverty (Poverty). However, in 2014, countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa, seventy-two percent of people who lived in rural areas, and fifty-nine percent of urban households lived in poverty (Rural Poverty Portal). One of the main reasons for this alarming, high number is caused by the constant political wars and the effects it has on the civilians. In the photograph,“The Starving Boy and the Missionary”, Mike Wells captures a starving Ugandan boy resting his hand on that of a healthy

In Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay, titled "Self-Reliance," he centers around how individuals should avoid conformity and false consistency. While still following their own beliefs and ideas, people should follow their hearts and be true to themselves. He idolizes the idea of expressing yourself and not being afraid to share your opinions, even if it may be incorrect. Additionally, Emerson strongly argues that people should refuse to conform and be pressured into the ways of popular culture and their ideas, such as giving back to charity. He expresses how it is okay to be misunderstood by others and to not be afraid to change your mind about things. People should not be intimidated or scared to be themselves, but instead they should accept their

Across oceans and seas, in every village, city or town, an apple falls at 9.8 meters per second squared. This fact has remained unchanged since it was discovered, and the myth of individual opportunity and the myth of gender in the United States have also stayed true to its original meaning since the beginning of the myths, only with a few minor changes. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word myth as “an idea or story defined by many people but is not true. These myths, in particular the myth of individual success and the myth of gender can give us unrealistic beliefs about the society we live in and cause psychological harm due to society’s preset gender roles that are pounded in our heads and reinforced by our peers, our families and the media. Through educating people about the realities that underlie these myths and finding ways to break free of gender roles as well as encouraging others to do the same we can start a movement to end the chains that tightly secure us to behave based on expectations.

Unfortunately, it was estimated that roughly 1.2 billion people in 1993 lived in extreme or absolute poverty, that which Robert McNamara regards “‘a condition of life so characterized by malnutrition, illiteracy, disease, squalid surroundings, high infant mortality and low life expectancy as to be beneath any reasonable standard of human dignity’” (Singer 219, 220). These estimates can be projected at nearly 2 billion today. A large majority of the people living in absolute poverty resides in underdeveloped countries. Among the nearly 4.4 billion people in these countries, “3/5 lives in societies lacking basic sanitation; 1/3 go without safe drinking water; 1/4 lack adequate housing; 1/5 are undernourished, and 1.3 billion live on less than $1 a day” (Speth 1).

Everyone is aware, that's no big deal. But awareness can be developed as a skill set just as talking can be developed by learning a broader vocabulary. The more you know different kinds of things to pay attention to, the more you can choose (or not) to use that information.

For example; the United States itself and other nations such as Somalia and Congo continue to have people with no shelter over their head and those with no food to eat, regardless of how hard some may strive to make ends meet, they are still in poverty. As those more auspicious, we should consider it as a moral obligation to assist those people who are less fortunate, be it those in the same nation as us or those farther away.