photo credit: ssedro
So I’m reading Eat Pray Love
I’m at the part where she is in Bali, Indonesia. And she is describing some of the customers that come to see the Medicine Man. One family is very poor, and come to him because their 1 year old has been crying for days. They bring him 25 cents and a few grains of rice of which he graciously accepts. Later that day a wealthy family comes to him and brings him a huge basket of fruit, and flowers, and a roasted duck of which he also graciously accepts.
It just seems so… what’s the word? Humane! To live in a society where everyone works and pays what they can. Sure, there is a caste system there that would make any American cringe. But really, is it any different from the informal caste system we have here? Yes, we live in the country where dreams come true. But for how many people? Face it, for most of us our destiny lies in the socioeconomic status we were born into.
Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone paid what they could, and there was no animosity that “Why should I have to pay more than that person? I work hard for my money!” or “Why should that person who cannot pay as much money as I can get the same medical services I get?” or “Why should their kids get a high quality eduction like the one my kids get which I pay extra for?”
Instead, can we just have respect for the work that people do and the realization that we all work hard, even if we are not all born into privilege? But that we all deserve certain humane services such as medical care and a quality education?
“You may say that I’m a dreamer. But I’m not the only one.”
-John Lennon
