The
quote that Farmer uses from Pablo
Richard was an especially moving, saddening, and a sobering reminder
of the world we live in. The quote states, in reference to the Berlin
Wall:“We are aware that another gigantic wall
is being constructed in the Third World, to hide the reality of the
poor majorities. A wall between the rich and poor is being built, so
that poverty does not annoy the powerful and the poor are obliged to
die in the silence of history” (50). Hopefully with an increase in
the dissemination of information such as this, coupled with
intelligent solutions, there might be a light at the end of the
tunnel for the hidden realities of life in the Third World. Like
Farmer, I want to think that the advice of Laura Nader, to not “study
the poor and powerless, because everything you say about them will be
used against them,” is ultimately untrue in the long term (26).
Things like fair trade practices and products coming from the third
world and micro-loans to assist in homegrown infrastructure for
locally needed products and services, as well as healthcare aid and
training, make it seem like there is a possibility of slow growth
toward stability in the Third World.
While
it is certainly not the First World's job to parent the Third World,
Farmer raises a great point when he asks: “Is every culture a law
unto itself and answerable to nothing other than
itself?”(47). Farmer suggests that we ought to
be concerned with cultural relativism as “a
mechanism for rationalizing and perpetuating inequalities between
First and Third
Worlds”(47-48). Farmer makes the point that “extreme
suffering—especially when on a grand scale, as in genocide—is
seldom divorced from the actions of the powerful” (42).
More specifically, Farmer tells us, “the
role of cultural boundary lines in enabling, perpetuating,
justifying, and
interpreting suffering is subordinate to (though well integrated
with) the national and international mechanisms that create and
deepen inequalities” (48-49). So, by way of these considerations,
we can take it not as some parental right or duty of the First World
to involve itself in another culture, but rather to make every effort
to temper and reign in the involvement that exists there and aid in
helping the people of another region, as though the regional division
didn't exist as an excuse not to.
As
we read from Martinez-Alier this week, “the environment is under
threat because of population growth and overconsumption” (54). And
as we discovered in chapters 4-6 the environmental stress is being
felt disproportionately along the lines of those who are in positions
of power and comfort in the First World as compared to those who are
struggling in the Third World. To me the takeaway from this week's
readings is that our continued rate of consumption and inaction
amidst strains across our worldwide ecosystem is something that has
gone unchecked and even ignored, which has been to the detriment of
many around the world. What to do with this understanding is the real
question. Fair-Trade seems to be something that is only effective for
coffee and sometimes chocolate right now. Likewise, donating to
charity, riding the bus, driving electric, even going to a Third
World village and getting involved like so many celebrities have
done, all seems like small drops in the infinitely growing bucket of
social and economic injustice and inequality. Perhaps the reality is
that rapid change isn't possible, and prolonged, determined efforts
can amount to something. It just doesn't feel like it. It might be
that we desperately need some rhetoric that can provide some positive
direction, to properly and constructively outlet the concern and
desire for action that these two texts have so thoroughly
highlighted.
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