Famine and ethics

There's a famine in Niger (that's in Africa, next door to the Sahara) that's been getting a lot of news time lately, and it got me thinking. People in the Western world spend a LOT of money on surgeries and hospitalization and medications that might prolong their lives a matter of months, years if they are lucky. Plus, of course, the money that gets spent on surgeries and stuff to make people look more youthful or more stylish or more pretty. True, insurance covers some of the health-related things, but seriously, I have no clue how much money goes into this.

On the other hand, in large parts of Africa, as well as other areas of the world, small children are starving to death by the thousands, because they can't afford the pennies a day it would cost to feed them. There seems to be a huge dichotomy here between the haves (and not even the really haves) and the have nots. I've eaten plenty of meals that cost more than it would to feed and clothe a child for a month. That seems really selfish. I think I'm going to have to research some aid organizations, and maybe find a kid or two to support through a place like Compassion International. It also makes me think about potentially working on engineering projects benefitting poorer areas of the world. I know a gentleman who is a civil engineer working on water reclamation projects in the Congo and similar places; friends at school have developed inexpensive prosthetics and even put them into action. Even supporting stuff like this seems like a lot better use of my discretionary spending than buying drinks at TGI Fridays or that sweet bass guitar that has eighteen knobs.

Another thing I thought about: why aren't more doctors heading to poor countries to administer even simple medicine to people who otherwise have zero access to anything beyond the local witch doctor. Maybe it's the fact that working in the African jungle doesn't pay off med school bills and Mercedes leases. Groups like Doctors Without Borders send willing physicians to deal with emerging situations like the Niger famine, which is great. But I think there ought to be a more organized intra-discipline effort to maybe have a group of stateside doctors support a doctor working abroad full-time; this could work with other things, too, like engineers or teachers. Maybe organizations like this exist. I sure hope they exist. Hmm, research may be in order... Taking six months or a year (or more) to minister to the needs of people who need basic necessities would be a lot easier if your colleagues back at home were the ones backing you, instead of your bank account and your relatives.

I guess it just seems like in an ideal world, people should look out for those less fortunate; there's got to be some sort of ethical implications for only using your abilities to make people look better or to make cars that drive really really ridiculously fast. A GMC slogan says of its trucks and SUVs "it's not more than you need, just more than you're used to." How about "Food, it's not more than you need, but more than millions of people are used to." Good ol' American consumerism in action. I'm definitely not innocent; I've spent way too much money on useless crap I don't need or use; electonics, movies, games at Dave & Busters, etc.

On a different note, I wonder what would happen if insurance companies let you take out a health insurance policy for a group of kids in Africa. I'm sure expenses would be less, since their doctors probably wouldn't need millions of dollars of malpractice insurance.

Well, I'm rambling, but seriously, this has all got the wheels turning in my head. What do you all (all 2 of you, or whatever) think?

in the player: Sixpence None the Richer - Divine Discontent, Alison Krauss - free mp3s from amazon.com