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~ mostafa ~
Joined: Jul 21, 2005
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[Poll] Don't you have a HEART?
June 8, 2007 - 01:05 AM
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I want to know how you think about this sentence:
"It seems that "Poverty" cannot be removed, and we should get used to it."
This question was discussed during the CIVICUS Youth Assembly 2007, as well.
Looking forward to know how much you agree with this.
BEsts,
Mostafa Nejati - IRAN
How much do you agree with this sentence:
Agree
(0 votes for 0%)
I’m not sure
(4 votes for 17.39%)
Disagree
(19 votes for 82.61%)
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George C. Owens
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Re: [Poll] Don't you have a HEART?
June 8, 2007 - 03:21 AM
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Poverty is a relative term, in other words if you took my net worth and compared it to say Bill Gates' I would be considered to be poor. But I am not worried about where my next meal is coming from. Even here in the US there is malnutrition, though few starve to death. In 1984 34 milion starved to death in China and no one in the world knew 'till years later and now China has one of the fastest growing econemies in the world, but even now many are very poor there.
But still I do not know the answer.
george
This post was edited on: 2007-06-08 at 03:22 AM by: GeorgeCO
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~ mostafa ~
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Re: [Poll] Don't you have a HEART?
June 8, 2007 - 04:56 AM
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Thanks George for your reply.
You're right. Poverty is a relative term.
But do you believe if we should care about the people who live with difficulty in the world, or it's just their own probnlem?
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Patricia Sudi
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Re: [Poll] Don't you have a HEART?
June 8, 2007 - 05:06 AM
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Yeah poverty depends on who you are comparing one to for you to refer to them as poor. I cant conclusively answer the above question but i disagree that poverty cant be tackled. It is a defeatist way of looking at the whole issue.
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George C. Owens
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Re: [Poll] Don't you have a HEART?
June 8, 2007 - 05:36 AM
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Mostafa,
I did not get to choose my parents, nor did I get to choose where I was born. When I first saw the Internet I had high hopes that it would take knowledge to all of the world. But for a long time I only saw a new form of tablod news service. Now I have hope that T.I.G. can bring a better world. And it can. These young people on this site will one day be able to make changes in their communities and countries. They will find pieces of knowledge here that they will use to make those changes.
george
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Jamal
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Re: [Poll] Don't you have a HEART?
June 8, 2007 - 06:00 AM
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well i dont think that Poverty is a relative term.....no wonder a multimillionare like bill gates....can not understand or define it.....it is well and clearly defined. And about the statement ...i totally disagree that we should get used to it....
Poverty is a social problem and it is not unavoidable.[
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~ mostafa ~
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Re: [Poll] Don't you have a HEART?
June 8, 2007 - 08:56 AM
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patsibo wrote:
Yeah poverty depends on who you are comparing one to for you to refer to them as poor. I cant conclusively answer the above question but i disagree that poverty cant be tackled. It is a defeatist way of looking at the whole issue.
Hi Patricia,
You're right. Maybe that's why the UN has made Goal 1 od the MDGs measureable saying: "To halve the number of people living in absolute poverty by 2015" which the term absolute poverty is measurable by determining an income of under 1$ a day as the definition. How do u think?
Bests,
Mostafa 
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~ mostafa ~
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Re: [Poll] Don't you have a HEART?
June 8, 2007 - 08:59 AM
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GeorgeCO wrote:
Mostafa,
I did not get to choose my parents, nor did I get to choose where I was born. When I first saw the Internet I had high hopes that it would take knowledge to all of the world. But for a long time I only saw a new form of tablod news service. Now I have hope that T.I.G. can bring a better world. And it can. These young people on this site will one day be able to make changes in their communities and countries. They will find pieces of knowledge here that they will use to make those changes.
george
Hi George,
It's so wonderful to have you here. Undoubtedly, youth will gain a lot of experiences through interacting with experienced TIG members.
It's so nice to know you.
Thanks again for your comment.
Bests,
Mostafa
IRAN
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~ mostafa ~
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Re: [Poll] Don't you have a HEART?
June 8, 2007 - 09:04 AM
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jamal wrote:
well i dont think that Poverty is a relative term.....no wonder a multimillionare like bill gates....can not understand or define it.....it is well and clearly defined. And about the statement ...i totally disagree that we should get used to it....
Poverty is a social problem and it is not unavoidable.[
Hi Jamal,
Thanks for letting us know about your ideas.
I also agree that Poverty is a global problem and we should ALL care about that.
As for poverty beig a relative term or not, let me bring an example.
Someone in USA may earn 10$ a day and be considered as a poor, because 300 $ a months is far less than his expenditures for a month. But that 300 $ a month for somebody who lives in an african country may be enough to make him even rich. Because the costs may be less there.
This is what I meant by "Poverty" being a relative term.
What do you think?
Bests,
Mostafa Nejati
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~ mostafa ~
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Re: [Poll] Don't you have a HEART?
June 13, 2007 - 11:48 AM
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GeorgeCO wrote:
Mostafa,
I did not get to choose my parents, nor did I get to choose where I was born. When I first saw the Internet I had high hopes that it would take knowledge to all of the world. But for a long time I only saw a new form of tablod news service. Now I have hope that T.I.G. can bring a better world. And it can. These young people on this site will one day be able to make changes in their communities and countries. They will find pieces of knowledge here that they will use to make those changes.
george
I'm sure TIG can help!
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Yo-shin
Joined: Jun 16, 2007
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Re: [Poll] Don't you have a HEART?
June 16, 2007 - 06:38 AM
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There are two main reasons why we felt nothing about certain things. One is that it actually doesn't happen in our everyday life, the other is that we're so used to it. Feeling nothing about children starving in Africa or families struggle under poverty line in the US? Such people don't even deserved the name "people".
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Becky
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Re: [Poll] Don't you have a HEART?
June 18, 2007 - 10:17 AM
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I don't think we should ever "get used" to human suffering, no matter what form it takes. Developing apathy is the cause of social decline, in my opinion. Whether it be poverty, war, injustice, etc; all of these we need to strive to understand and empathize about even if we have never experienced them ourselves.
However, with that said, I do have to agree that poverty--in and of itself--is likely to never be totally eradicated. As others have stated, that is because poverty and wealth are both relative terms AND, at least in the US, capitalism depends on keeping some people in under-paid jobs (and fortunately or unfortunately, I don't see capitalism as going away any time soon). Even if everyone in the world was given a raise the cost of living would be adjusted accordingly but, there would still be people who make less than others and those people would still not be able to afford all that is needed. I realize that this may sound pessimisstic but I think its realistic. Nevertheless, I do think we need to advocate for those in life-threatening povery (which likely CAN be eliminated) so that people are no longer dying because of hunger, lack of shelter, medicine etc. Ensuring that all people have at least a level of nutrition, housing, clothing, and health care that affords them the ability to live, is a more obtainable goal than attempting to eradicate poverty completely, in my opinion.
This post was edited on: 2007-06-18 at 10:18 AM by: rschack
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George C. Owens
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Re: [Poll] Don't you have a HEART?
June 18, 2007 - 12:23 PM
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Becky,
I am going to assum that you have a degree in Social Studies. And I have to say I liked your post better than mine.
Mustafa,
I am going to guess that you are getting your Masters of Bussiness Administration degree.
Jamal,
If everyone was like Bill Gates this would be one really nice world. He has always been a very good employer. And he has given away billions to good causes.
Back to the subject of poverty.
One thing that the United States did when it was first formed was to set up free education to about 6th grade and latter to 12th grade. And it is required to go to school 'till 16 years of age almost all over the country.
Co-OPs helped to solve a lot of problems in the rural areas. Some dealt with farming, helping to sale and distribute goods and purchase seed and fertalizers and tools in bulk. Others brought in Electricity and Water.
Comunity Bonds are still used all over the country, even big cities.
And something that I have read a little about is Micro-Loans.
But be warned most of the TIG members who ask for donations here are just con-men/women. If you got extra money give it to TIG or Care or Red Cross/Cressent.
george
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Natalie Tai
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Re: [Poll] Don't you have a HEART?
June 21, 2007 - 12:24 PM
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rschack wrote:
I don't think we should ever "get used" to human suffering, no matter what form it takes. Developing apathy is the cause of social decline, in my opinion. Whether it be poverty, war, injustice, etc; all of these we need to strive to understand and empathize about even if we have never experienced them ourselves.
However, with that said, I do have to agree that poverty--in and of itself--is likely to never be totally eradicated. As others have stated, that is because poverty and wealth are both relative terms ... Nevertheless, I do think we need to advocate for those in life-threatening povery (which likely CAN be eliminated) so that people are no longer dying because of hunger, lack of shelter, medicine etc.
i agree enthusiastically with you, Becky. poverty isn't something you just 'get used to'. yes, it may exist, and while we may not be able to fully wipe it out, we Must stand together to do the best we can. though poverty will always be relative, we can always raise the status quo and lift those who are in preventable bad situations out of those situations. some may even say it's part of our social obligation, but for believers in true altruism, it's just something we do because we have the power to, especially while we have the energy and passion to.
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George C. Owens
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Re: [Poll] Don't you have a HEART?
June 21, 2007 - 10:48 PM
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you are each on MyFriends List and I hope you know that I know that you are my friends. But if You mind simple click Edit Profile, then Friends, down to remove you from my list and i will understand.
even if i go by george
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