I have no idea how to begin change. I don’t know how to persuade people to make little sacrifices. I don’t know how to lift the veil of material-obsessive illusion from those around me and convince people that they’ll be happier paying attention to others outside themselves. I don’t know how to try to raise and maintain awareness about the desperate need for privileged peoples to share just a little of what they have with those who need it and, unlike us, do not have the opportunity to get out and get it for themselves.
This frustrates me more than anything I’ve ever encountered and has actually started stunting my ability to socialize.

I know that I could ramble sob stories to people, like the story of the woman found by Compassion International in West Africa who is feeding her children bowls of salted soup every day, or the woman in Haiti who is treating her kids to “cookies” for meals, which are simply lumps of dirt that she has molded into cookie shapes and let bake in the oppressive sun. But I know rambling about these on a soapbox just makes me a “bleeding heart liberal”, easily dismissable and somewhat laughable in my endless causes. But countless stories like these exist and, while I think the human spirit can easily be drained at the prospect of tackling every single one of these cases, I get so frustrated when people just don’t give a crap at all. There’s nobody in America who just isn’t aware of global poverty but it isn’t on the forefront of our minds and while it seems that the root of the problem is people’s assumption that it isn’t their responsibility, the real truth is that the majority of us have no concept of what real poverty actually is. We have no idea what it’s like to have nothing and have no hope of obtaining anything more than the bare minimum we need to survive. (See my tirade on this in my tiny rant about our brainwashed society of empty illusion. God, I’m so melodramatic sometimes.)

And as impassioned as I feel about it (this isn’t a recent thing, by the way. This has been growing exponentially in the last couple years) and angry I am at the general apathy around me, i get increasingly frustrated at people en masse, which isn’t helpful or healthy at all. I know there are people working to make ends meet and living paycheck-to-paycheck here. I know there are people who have had medical crises and will spend their lives paying that off. I’m not an idiot; we’re one of those families. But still, I wish I could get more people to realize that if they “sacrificed” one night of partying/drinking and gave it away to someone who needed it, we could create tremendous global change. (This goes back to the whole “I deserve to treat myself because I exist” mentality I’ve discussed.) If everyone in the middle-to-upper class “sacrificed” one pair of new [unnecessary] shoes, one new video game, one cutting-edge electronic device (that they’ll wait in line for overnight and will find completely irrelevant within two years), one ordered-in pizza, one date night at the movies and dinner, one pair of concert tickets, one month of an extended cable package, one new handbag, etc. and gave that $30-$50 to someone who needed it, the impact would be incredible. Christ, think of the result one month of that could have on the economic status of third-world countries, or even our local charities. Hell, even if those people who can’t afford to give anything went to their local blood bank every six weeks or gave their old clothes and junk to Habitat for Humanity or a women’s shelter or the Salvation Army or something in that vein, that would be a tremendous effort. And none of those are ridiculous or unrealistic scenarios, I don’t think. I don’t expect everyone to sell all their possessions and live in squalor - I don’t believe in anyone living in poverty; that’s the point. But just the idea that everyone’s putting in a little effort, you know? Even if it’s for the wrong motivations (tax deductions, etc.), it’s still a gift.

Sure, I think it’s pathetic that some people feel justified “giving” by purchasing something from a trendy mass-manufacturer that gives a measly 5% to some charity and I hate it when people only support a cause because it’s trendy (like that celebrity-based charity that gives money toward helping kids learn how to meditate… really?), but you know what? At least they’re helping, if only a tiny bit.

:::sigh::: I really could go on about this all day. In fact, I kind of did yesterday to my best friend, who listened patiently while I expounded on my frustrations and general crisis with rampant materialism and the American mentality of more=successful/worthwhile/important. She listened patiently while I exhausted myself and frantically apologized for tirelessly rambling and I know that if I were to preach like this to everysingleperson, I’d become exhausted and demoralized. I just wish there was something I could really do on a broader scale, if only to quell my raging exasperation with the materialism idolization thing we’ve got going.

And the worst part is that, if I somehow had the capability of starting some sort of charity, I know I’d have to play the game, too. I’d have to “dress like a professional” with trendy attire and impeccable cosmetic detail so that potential donors would take me seriously and not cast me aside as some dirty hippie with wild, impossible ideals. I’d have to throw expensive parties and events to lure people into my scheme and weasel my way in through the very societal expectations that I loathe in the first place. It’s exhausting to think about.

I know right now the only power I have is to do what I’m doing and stick to these sort of beliefs regardless of what other people are doing. I know that I can visualize and imagine a progressive society of giving, selfless people who feel content with themselves as humans because they pay attention and offer help to other humans. And right now, that’s about it. I know for my self-preservation I have to learn to accept and love the people who inevitably will never budge from self-servicing lifestyles, but I’m not big enough to ignore the fact that it suuuuucks.
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For the record, here are a few charities/organizations that I really believe in and give to when I can. I’m not talking about these to be a martyr or something; I just think they’re causes worth mentioning since I’m on a roll here:

Compassion International is a means through which I sponsor a teenage girl in Peru for just $30 every month. They’re Christian-based which really turned me off originally, but they’re not all about shoving Jesus lessons down everyone’s throat so much as they’re for genuinely helping people who need it and redirecting those people’s gratitude toward a Higher Power. For many people, having a God creates a life-renewing hope which is something that many abused, starving children desperately need. So I’m definitely for that.

I looooooove Ten Thousand Villages which is a retail chain that only sells fair trade stuff made from artists around the globe in order to help them afford houses, food, medicine, etc. It’s so much fun to shop there, I don’t even care that they’re a charity, really. It’s like World Market but not so corporate-y and the stuff they sell is just amazing. Their online shop is just as rad and the stuff there makes great gifts for the holidays.

Tom’s Shoes is more on the trendy side these days but who gives a crap? They’re an organization who supplies shoes to children who need it for every pair that they sell to people like us. When my sister worked in Uganda, she got to see this organization at work and was really inspired and relieved to learn that they’re legit.

Citizens Against Spousal Abuse (CASA) is a local organization that I think is just amazing. Not only do they provide women and their families a safe house to stay in, but they also give everyone who stays in the house real counseling and set them up with a place to live and a new job before releasing them back out into the world. I was a volunteer there briefly and was amazed by what I saw, although they’re one of those groups who always need help keeping a stock of toiletries and clothes for women who may have fled or those who don’t have anything to wear to a job interview. Plus, the safe house they have grows increasingly small as more abused women learn of the organization, so they’re constantly working to keep their heads afloat. I swear if I won the lottery, half of it would go to helping them out.

St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital is another one of those celebrity-driven causes but it’s one I believe in simply because I know someone who was saved through their efforts and the money donated from outsiders. Plus, I know if my child was stricken with a life-threatening illness I’d hope that people would help us out as much as they could.

After all the scandal that erupted after Sept.11, I’ve become really hesitant to give money to the Red Cross but I always give blood - even though I haaaate the process - because that’s the one thing they have no hope of embezzling (unless they’re vampires…) Plus, there are so so many people who need blood every day that I often get phone calls from the local blood banks making sure I’ve given recently because they’re in such short supply.

And then there are the little ones I give to when I can. I give bags of clothes to Goodwill and leftover household-y stuff I never use to Habitat for Humanity (although I’d love to help them build a house one day.) I performed in a benefit show for the V-Day Organization which I dream of working for one day (seriously, they’re just amazing.) And every so often I join a group and make/serve dinner at the Myrtle Beach Homeless Shelter who provides dinner to anyone who wants it, even if they’re not staying in the shelter. (There’s a woman who comes every week and gives a $10 donation just to sit and talk with the people. She’s my hero.)

I do believe in acting locally and thinking globally but I’m more likely to give to organizations who help those without hope of getting out of their situation and aren’t likely to abuse the generosity of others. Also, I usually have a real problem supporting those groups who are about “raising awareness” but not actually doing anything for anyone like the Global Awareness Project who professes that their mission is to “showcase humanitarian, environmental and cultural activities in local communities and worldwide”, which really consists of them throwing art parties showcasing local artists/arts school teenagers and creating masturbatory films involving said designer-clothing-clad teens discussing how they could potentially raise awareness about global issues… and then not doing anything at all to support that. At. All. (Seriously, if you visit their “About Us” page, it’s complete drivel that makes no sense of their “mission” whatsoever. I’ve attended some of their events so this isn’t just blind speculation. They also travelled to some Latin-American country to spend a few days making minor art projects with underprivileged schoolchildren. What a fantastic expenditure of funds.) And then there were those Live 8 Concerts which were just supposed to raise awareness about global poverty by having celebrities tell billions of fans that, oh yeah, people are starving. AND THAT WAS IT!!! Okay, I know the whole thing was amazing to concertgoers because it was free but would it have killed them to charge people $5 at the door at the 10 locations where the concerts were simultaneously held? Seriously, a supercheap concert with huge musical acts is pretty much the same as a free one and, since the artists were already playing for free, they could’ve donated it all to these people we were supposed to be made aware of. Sure, they had 10 million people sign a greatbig petition to hand to Tony Blair saying “let’s do something about poverty!” but then they backed up that supposed passion and hope for change with nothing. What an incredible wasted opportunity.

So yeah. That’s what I’ve got. I’m going to go try to meditate my anger away now.
/tirade.