Tower of Babel

The United States and many other countries in the so called “West” are a relatively comfortable place to live right now, regardless of the economic and political state that they may be in. The benefits that the poorer classes are allowed by the governments are actually pretty good compared to how some other countries treat the underprivileged. The poor, elderly and handicapped have access to financial benefits, food, housing and other basic necessities provided by state (when relative) and local governments through the money from fellow citizens that people in too many other countries do not for reasons beyond and within human control. With such availability to information these days, it's difficult to not be aware of the suffering that goes on in many of these countries that lack many of the things that some of us take for granted. When I compare how people live in what might be considered more privileged countries to some other countries like that, even though I consider myself more of a human being than an American, I am grateful, and humbled, to live in the United States.

Though I don't agree with everything about the government of the United States all the time, I count my blessings for the opportunities I am allowed here, such as my right to disagree with the government. Sometimes, though, I do get a bit concerned when I consider people in this and similar countries who are enjoying similar privileges I am. Through conversation, observation, personal interaction and other research methods I came to the conclusion that many of the afore mentioned “Westerners,” as we have become known, take what they receive for granted. They even go so far as to abuse their privileges and discount their good fortune. No person is perfect, so I suppose that's human, to an extent; but in this age of information and technology, after a time one must almost avoid knowledge of their benefits and consciously abuse their privileges. Before so much information became available about the condition of the world it was more excusable to be ignorant of it. Now it seems disrespectful and inhumane.

It is obvious that the West has a great influence on the world and it has been said many times that the United States has a powerful influence in the West, but so do citizens of these places and many of us have forgotten where we come from. Things like freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and basic civil rights are just some of the human rights everyone deserves that too many of us arrogantly take for granted. It seems that too many of us have forgotten the struggles and sacrifices of the brave people that got us those rights. In those days of cultural and political revolution friendships were broken and made, families were broken and made, people died and killed, and those in power were rich, proud, and arrogant and building that Tower of Babel brick by brick. My how times have changed, sort of.

Regardless of the “progressive” social and political changes that were fought for, many people still seem as arrogant and prideful as ever. They think that they can do it all, and do it all by themselves. Unfortunately it seems the victories of various civil rights groups for acceptance and equality only made many of those groups more defined and separated. They received the civil rights that they fought for, gradually and with great sacrifice, but somewhere along the way, at least in my eyes, they became tainted with power and became like the enemy they fought against.

The West and Westerners, especially the United States, have a very strong influence on the entire world politically, socially, economically, and other ways that are, and may not be, admirable. I read sometimes (though I don't trust the news media much anymore) that other countries consider the West and Westerners to be greedy, very materialistic, corrupt and lacking spirituality. Considering the great influence the West has on the world, this should not be taken lightly. Those with great influence have great responsibility and since there are apparently many people angry at “those with great influence” I suggest that there may be a lack of responsibility.

Everyone is responsible for their own actions, so it is difficult, if not impossible, to blame one person for the state of the world. People, especially Westerners must realize that money and what it can buy are not the most important things in life. I agree that at this point in human existence it is difficult to survive without it, but when one is blinded by materialistic desires to the point of not aiding a fellow human being, there is a problem. When people begin to forget the simple things in life that everyone in the world can't do without and get caught up in the illusion of desire for earthly things that lead to greed, jealousy, arrogance, and worse, they are setting themselves up for failure. There are many examples of that throughout history that can be found in various powerful empires and kingdoms as recent as the 20^th century. They all seemed to start off with good enough intentions, but eventually, as so often happens with humans, they were corrupted by power. For the human race to at least get along, it seems to come down to being smart enough to recognize the mistakes of our ancestors and to be wise and strong enough to not repeat them. Humans have a long destructive history of becoming arrogant with knowledge, but some constructive things have happened, too. People, especially Westerners because they have the most influence on the planet right now, should take a look at the condition of the world and their place in it and consider the example they are setting for the rest of the world, especially younger generations. We must all remember that we are co-habitating, whether we like it or not, on this planet and it would be best if we got along or we just might get evicted. Also it's a good idea for people, especially Westerners, to pay a bit more attention to the things that money can't buy and maybe consider why money can't buy them.