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Human Advancement-Are We Doing It Right?

By Asa
Sat Nov 9 2013 10:34 am

To the World,

The human desire for greatness has always been viewed as something that strengthens mankind. Is our constant advancement and building the best way to do things though? Undoubtedly, advancement and technology are essential aspects to our growth, but take a look around. The first world is ever progressing, while the second and third worlds are still struggling to keep caught up, or alive. While one may argue that the cultural pyramid needs a base to sit upon, I ask, is it essential that it is a pyramid? Why not a tower, or better yet, a floating castle? As those with the resources and ability to make new and improved things push forward without end, they leave behind millions upon millions to struggle to reach a point where they may relax every once and a while.

The first world, including many countries in North America and Western Europe, have technological development for the past few hundred years. In 2007, the first iPhone came out. Email was developed in 1971, and the internal combustion powered car was patented in 1879. Today, the first world enjoys luxuries like cars, computers, readily available food, clean water, electricity, a surplus of clothes, access to medicine, and education. In many developing third world countries, however, these developments and amenities are something to marvel at. The great industrialization of our world has seemingly passed them by. They may struggle everyday for food, clean water, shelter, and warmth. Many will never have an education. And yet we are conceited enough with our Master's Degrees and PhD's to develop the next frivolous smartphone and put it on our capitalist market.

Oftentimes we compare world development to a pyramid, with a base of common "peasants" and a pinnacle representing the elite. We say that in order to keep reaching higher, we need to have the base to support us. But a tower stands on the same size base as the rest of itself. Any part of a tower could take the role of base, as there would not be a massive disparity in the classes.We could find a way to move as many from the lower tiers up as possible, giving them access to those adaptations and technologies we have. We could even make a model like a castle floating in the sky, ideally, where nobody is stuck near the ground, and everybody has access to those things they need, that we have.

We, the first world, have all the resources to compete on the global market, offer education and healthcare, and develop new ways to make life easier. We are constantly pushing forward, aspiring for greatness, while those millions are left in poverty. They live every day without enough food or water, without a blanket at night, under a leaking roof, or none at all. We live with so much food it is becoming the norm to be obese. We have virtually unlimited water, right out of the tap. We sleep with three blankets and two pillows at night. We have a warm, dry house to live in. They do not. Is this right?
We who live in the first world press ever onward, leaving behind so many in poverty. Some say it is necessary to have a base for the developmental pyramid to sit on, but perhaps it is not. We push forward, and leave behind millions upon millions that are not even approaching our level of development. Perhaps, perhaps we should slow down, and help our brothers and sisters catch up, before pushing forward anymore.

Signed,
Asa Cameron

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Global Poverty

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