A common obligation

A common obligation

“Not until the creation and maintenance of decent conditions of life for all men are recognized and accepted as a common obligation of all men and all countries—not until then shall we, with a certain degree of justification, be able to speak of mankind as civilized.”
                                                                                                                             Albert Einstein
I read some alarming statistics the other day. Globally almost 870 million chronically undernourished. But it’s not just the developing world where this is happening.
In the Untied States according to the U.S. census, 46.5 million people were living in poverty in 2012. That’s 15% of all Americans.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 15.8 million children under 18 in the United States live in households where they are unable to consistently access enough nutritious food necessary for a healthy life.
In Canada a country with about one tenth the population of the United States Food Secure Canada estimates that almost 2.5 million Canadians live without secure access to food.
Kristy Duncan M.P. in National Newswatch October 2013 wrote,
“Tragically,... 7.7 per cent of, or 961,000, Canadian households are “food insecure”, one in four First Nations and Inuit children grows up in poverty, and over 300,000 children rely on food banks.
It is absolutely abhorrent that any child goes to school hungry in a country as wealthy as Canada, and that our country remains one of the few developed countries without a student nutrition program.” 
Such poverty is not limited to Canada and the United States. It is prevalent in all western countries despite their wealth.
In Britain there is no official government monitoring of hunger. However the Trussell Trust reported in 2012 that it feeds tens of thousands of people each year, and that altogether in the UK there are 13 million people "below the poverty line": about 1 in 5 of the overall population.
 A 2012 study undertook by Netmums found that one in five mothers would regularly miss out on meals so as to be able to save their children from going hungry. According to a March 2013 report, teachers in London schools said that at least five children per class turned up without having had breakfast, with 41% of teachers saying they believed the children's hunger led to symptoms such as fainting.
One report from a girl just referred to as Amy living in Britain when she was twenty recalled what it was like to live with hunger in Britain,
"I was so hungry I would even chip bits of brick off the wall and eat those"
"When I was little I was very thin and was very embarrassed about it. I had developed a tummy ache which attached itself to eating and stress, which I believe was something I inherited from my mother's stress around not having enough food.
"I would wake up starving in the night but there would be no more food. When I went to people's houses their parents would make as much food as possible for me and more for me to take home.
"At my best friend's house I would fill up on dog biscuits in between meals. I would wait at my garden fence and ask passers-by for sweets or food. I would even chip bits of brick off the wall and eat those. When I lived on my own and on the streets I would spend days walking around London, hoping to be able to find or steal some food. I would look in every bin and on every bit of the floor."
How tragic. And while the account of Amy is from the United Kingdom I have no doubt it is happening in Canada, the United States and other western countries.
The reason I write all of this is because I firmly believe we need to do more for the poor. I hear politicians in the Unite States wanting to cut social programs, do away with Obama care and it seems basically let the poor fend for themselves.
Canada’s no better the Conservative government of Stephen Harper seems to want to do nothing.
They are quick to give tax breaks to the rich but slow to help those in need.
In all of this I hear politicians that claim they are Christian. Yet they are not standing up for the basic human rights of the most vulnerable in our society. The right to good nutritious food, healthcare, and a roof over their head.
Jesus said
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” 
          Matthew 7:12.
I can only think that those politicians who claim to be Christians and are not speaking out for the poor do not agree with the words of Jesus. Either that or they like eating bricks.
Tony Campolo the American Evangelist said,
“The reason why I buy into the Democratic Party more than the Republican Party is because there are over 2,000 verses of Scripture that deal with responding to the needs of the poor.”
                                                                                                               Tony Campolo
The Talmud says this,
“When a man appears before the Throne of Judgment, the first question he is asked is not, “Have you believed in God?”  Or “Have you prayed and observed the ritual?  “He is asked: “have you dealt honourably and faithfully in all your dealings with your fellow men?”
                                                                                                               The Talmud.
Be we politicians, princes paupers or just the average man and woman on the street we should be asking ourselves that question. “Have we dealt honourably and faithfully in all our dealings with our fellow man?”
Are we doing what we can to help the poorest people in our society?
We should be demanding our politicians help the poorest in our society no matter the cost, because whether you are Christian or not it is the humane thing to do.
Think about it.