What are the media’s moral obligations in making society aware of extreme poverty in the world?

[St_Francis]

If the Holocaust was happening today, but the horrors were not changing over time, would not the media still have an obligation to report it?

Now that we have the internet, everyone is the media! You could easily start a site which reports daily on these issues, using sources online. Do *you *have no responsibility in this area? You are the one who seems to feel this call that poverty needs to be publicized. Matt Drudge started his news aggregation site with few resources; you could start one too.

 

[Robert_Sock]

Now that we have the internet, everyone is the media! You could easily start a site which reports daily on these issues, using sources online. Do *you *have no responsibility in this area? You are the one who seems to feel this call that poverty needs to be publicized. Matt Drudge started his news aggregation site with few resources; you could start one too.

Where is the Internet when it comes to the starvation that occurs in our world? Again, do a Google search using the key words ‘extreme poverty’ and you’ll come up with web sites that glorify it; photos of the real conditions, especially the starvation, are nowhere to be found.

 

[St_Francis]

Where is the Internet when it comes to the starvation that occurs in our world? Again, do a Google search using the key words ‘extreme poverty’ and you’ll come up with web sites that glorify it; photos of the real conditions, especially the starvation, are nowhere to be found.

These are the results I got, none of which seems to glorify poverty, whatever that may mean.

And And these are the results i got from images on the same search. Plenty of pictures of starving children, skeletal. Some of the pictures are taken if children with very rounded stomachs–these children suffer from kwashiorkor, a condition caused when there is caloric intake of food but insufficient protein, leading to a metabolic disorder which is more difficult to recover from than starvation itself. Kwashiorkor is also a sign of just slightly less extreme poverty than starvation.

So, Robert, you seem to have great concern for these extremely needy people, and you have discovered a gap in media or internet coverage. Why don’t you do what Matt Drudge did and start a news aggregation site which will alert and update people to these situations?

I once saw a card at my cousin’s: one the outside, someone was asking, “God, why don’t You do something?” On the inside of the card was God’s response: “I did–I sent you.”

 

[Robert_Sock]

These are the results I got, none of which seems to glorify poverty, whatever that may mean.

And And these are the results i got from images on the same search. Plenty of pictures of starving children, skeletal. Some of the pictures are taken if children with very rounded stomachs–these children suffer from kwashiorkor, a condition caused when there is caloric intake of food but insufficient protein, leading to a metabolic disorder which is more difficult to recover from than starvation itself. Kwashiorkor is also a sign of just slightly less extreme poverty than starvation.

So, Robert, you seem to have great concern for these extremely needy people, and you have discovered a gap in media or internet coverage. Why don’t you do what Matt Drudge did and start a news aggregation site which will alert and update people to these situations?

I once saw a card at my cousin’s: one the outside, someone was asking, “God, why don’t You do something?” On the inside of the card was God’s response: “I did–I sent you.”

I’m glad to see that these images do exist. I did not do an image search, which you apparently did.

I’m doing what I can, like creating threads like this and posting on facebook! I’m limited in what I can do these days, mentally, physically and financially.

 

[pnewton]

The similarities between the starvation of innocent civilians in the world and the Jews in Nazi Germany are too pronounced to ignore. To try and undermine these similarities by quoting Godwin’s Law is to sidetrack the tragic atrocities that are at hand.

The differences are* far* greater. Throwing Nazis out at every point is nothing but empty rhetoric. Truth needs no exaggeration. Pointing out something is illogical and out of proportion is not a sidetrack.

 

[Robert_Sock]

The differences are* far* greater. Throwing Nazis out at every point is nothing but empty rhetoric. Truth needs no exaggeration. Pointing out something is illogical and out of proportion is not a sidetrack.

Intentionally starving innocent people (the Nazis) = intentionally starving innocent people (the African dictators)! Please elaborate on the differences!

 

[pnewton]

Intentionally starving innocent people (the Nazis) = intentionally starving innocent people (the African dictators)! Please elaborate on the differences!

The genocides of Africa are an exception and poverty is hardly the greatest crim of these dictators. Yes, there is a minority in an isolated area of genocide that are affected in the same way. These incidents are pretty well reported though. I hardly watch the news and know of these incidents.

I would say the most notable difference is that the Nazis killed these people directly. There purpose was to kill everyone of them. Poverty has many causes and does not directly kill in the manner of a bullet or poisoned gas. It also does not kill all the way being trapped in a shower when the gas is released does.

 

[livingwordunity]

The genocides of Africa are an exception and poverty is hardly the greatest crim of these dictators. Yes, there is a minority in an isolated area of genocide that are affected in the same way. These incidents are pretty well reported though. I hardly watch the news and know of these incidents.

I would say the most notable difference is that the Nazis killed these people directly. There purpose was to kill everyone of them. Poverty has many causes and does not directly kill in the manner of a bullet or poisoned gas. It also does not kill all the way being trapped in a shower when the gas is released does.

And there are people like Jim Jones who promise a socialist utopia but deliver death.

 

[Robert_Sock]

The genocides of Africa are an exception and poverty is hardly the greatest crim of these dictators. Yes, there is a minority in an isolated area of genocide that are affected in the same way. These incidents are pretty well reported though. I hardly watch the news and know of these incidents.

I would say the most notable difference is that the Nazis killed these people directly. There purpose was to kill everyone of them. Poverty has many causes and does not directly kill in the manner of a bullet or poisoned gas. It also does not kill all the way being trapped in a shower when the gas is released does.

Again, the differences you state seem to be awfully trivial given both are atrocities and crimes against humanity; I contend that they are justifiably comparable for these reasons.

 

[St_Francis]

Again, the differences you state seem to be awfully trivial given both are atrocities and crimes against humanity; I contend that they are justifiably comparable for these reasons.

It’s tricky… first of all, you started off with the topic “all those living in extreme poverty,” which you called a crime.

Your analogy to the Nazi killing of 12 million --the Jews were not the only people the Nazis killed: they wanted to exterminate the disabled and those Catholics who refused to go along with them as well-- doesn’t work as evidence that extreme poverty is a crime because the causes of extreme poverty vary. Only in nations in which people are rounded up and denied food would the analogy with the Nazi killing camps work.

In some nations where people are denied food by their rulers, the analogy might be made to the Communist deliberate starvation of peasants, the English refusal to allow the Irish any food other than potatoes during the Potato Famine.

But anyway, the analogy doesn’t work because the topic is broad and the analogy can be applied only to a small part of the problem if that.

There is poverty in the world. You have North Korea, where people are dying of lack of food for apparently political reasons; you have Latin America where indians from the jungle have been displaced into a lifestyle they don’t understand; in Africa you have poverty caused by the destruction of economies for racial reasons; in other parts of Africa, starvation exists because of displacement of people due to violence; in Asia there is poverty due to economies which do not suffice to serve all the people.

In some cases, the poverty seems to be directly causd, as in North Korea; in others, poverty is a side effect of really bad policies, in others violence; and in some cases the poverty is not really caused by anything, the economy simply has not yet caught up with the number of people.

 

[Jozefo]

In some cases, the poverty seems to be directly causd, as in North Korea; in others, poverty is a side effect of really bad policies, in others violence; and in some cases the poverty is not really caused by anything, the economy simply has not yet caught up with the number of people.

The macro-economy is fueled by an unjust monetary system. Just as most of the nations in the world have abandoned the old money system in favor of fractional reserve lending, so too must the present money system be abandoned in favor of a money creation scheme that is more just.

There is simply no moral way to justify lending money at interest as a means to create money. It’s true that there will always be poor people, but those who are in countries that have been left out of the money creation cycle are being abused as a matter of public policy.

 

[Robert_Sock]

onedayswages.org/about/what-extreme-global-poverty

2.4 billion people live on less than $2/day (USD), and roughly 1.2 billion people live on less than $1.25/day (USD) - the definition of “extreme global poverty.”

Water
3.4 million people die every year from water related diseases around the world, and roughly 780 million people do not have access to clean water.

Health
Nearly 11,700 people die every day from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Close to two-thirds of these people are living in sub-Saharan Africa.

Education
61 million children of primary school age were out of school. More than half of them (33 million) were in sub-Saharan Africa and a further one fifth (13 million) in Southern Asia.

Women
A woman dies every minute due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth.

Human Trafficking
Worldwide, there are nearly two million children in the commercial sex trade.

Agriculture & hunger
Malnutrition is the underlying cause of death for at least 3.1 million children, accounting for 45% of all deaths among children under the age of five.

Everyone should be made aware of these statistics through the major media networks!

 

[Robert_Sock]

2.4 billion people living on less than $2 a day (USD)! Imagine all that human potential being put to work in meaningful jobs!!! Imagine the super-strong economy that would result! Imagine the technological advances that could be had as a result! Imagine how the standard of living would increase for all! It all starts with mandatory education for all children.

 

[Robert_Sock]

2.4 billion people live like this! What are the media’s moral obligations in making society aware of this disgraceful fact?

 

[Elizabeth502]

The media’s moral obligations in making society aware of extreme poverty in the world are to investigate and explain the different causes and variations of poverty, instead of inappropriately generalizing regarding radical differences in the reasons for that. The vast majority of extreme poverty is politically generated, at root, is not in the First World, and is not controlled by the First World, including its media.

As to the response to international poverty, most of which is in the Third World, the response should be to work at long-term solutions, rather than massive donations from ngo’s which have proven to be temporary, never-ending, and interceded by corrupt and/or inefficient governments. It should be the moral responsibility of the First World to convince the Third World that poverty is not in the best interest of their various countries, limiting both the economic viability of those countries and the very stability of their governments and individual careers. (And, when convinced, then receive practical help from the First World to address the priorities, within those countries, to reverse these long-standing trends.)

 

[Robert_Sock]

The media’s moral obligations in making society aware of extreme poverty in the world are to investigate and explain the different causes and variations of poverty, instead of inappropriately generalizing regarding radical differences in the reasons for that. The vast majority of extreme poverty is politically generated, at root, is not in the First World, and is not controlled by the First World, including its media.

As to the response to international poverty, most of which is in the Third World, the response should be to work at long-term solutions, rather than massive donations from ngo’s which have proven to be temporary, never-ending, and interceded by corrupt and/or inefficient governments. It should be the moral responsibility of the First World to convince the Third World that poverty is not in the best interest of their various countries, limiting both the economic viability of those countries and the very stability of their governments and individual careers. (And, when convinced, then receive practical help from the First World to address the priorities, within those countries, to reverse these long-standing trends.)

When will there ever be a motivation for change unless there is an outcry from citizens in the West? It’s a crime against humanity, and needs to be reported as such. If America can go to war against Syria for their supposed crimes against humanity, why can’t the nations in the West work towards removing the evil dictators from government?

What is needed are meaningful jobs and mandatory HS education for all children! Simply providing aid is not the answer.

 

[SamH]

2.4 billion people live like this! What are the media’s moral obligations in making society aware of this disgraceful fact?

What makes you think society isn’t aware? So what have you done to help those that live in poverty?

 

[Elizabeth502]

What makes you think society isn’t aware?

I was wondering the same.

So what have you done to help those that live in poverty?

 

[Elizabeth502]

When will there ever be a motivation for change unless there is an outcry from citizens in the West?

Why do you argue with people who agree with you that it’s a crime? What I don’t agree with is your implication that all poverty has similar causes and similar solutions. Anyone who has made a study of it can see that.

You also make an odd connection between poverty & Syria. I don’t happen to favor intervention in Syria. I think it’s an extremely bad idea. But I also know that there is not an instant solution to poverty, especially in countries in which we have no jurisdiction and lack alliances. That’s why I suggest a different approach than mere hand-wringing and guilt-tripping, neither of which are effective against radical poverty, but both of which you appear to be practicing.

 

[Robert_Sock]

That’s why I suggest a different approach than mere hand-wringing and guilt-tripping, neither of which are effective against radical poverty, but both of which you appear to be practicing.

Where am I practicing hand-wringing or guilt-tripping? Both accusations are very presumptuous on your part. Is my bringing up the need of the media to openly report these crimes guilt-tripping or hand-wringing?