I’ve had good ideas and bad ideas. One of the bad ones came to me when I was trying to devise a way for a television newscast to depict how much waste was generated each day in the metropolitan area where we lived. I took the cubic foot measurement provided by official sources and scouted out some prominent places to make some comparisons. We then reported that the waste material generated each day was enough to fill a certain hotel building in a downtown area. Needless to say, the hotel people were not happy with that comparison.
* * * Here, however, is a good idea from Bread for the World, non-profit organization that encourages us to “Have Faith. End Hunger.” This idea for a group presentation illustrates the U.S. budget in a way that gives us a chance to comprehend the monumental nature of it. Start with a 25-foot strip of adding machine tape. Color a one-and one-eighth inch section at one end, and use a different color for another one-and-one-eight inch section next to the first one. Make a line 15 inches from the end, and another at the five-foot mark. Many Americans think that the United States spends 10-20 percent of our budget on foreign aid, according to Bread for the World. Many Americans think the United States should spend about 5 percent. When you stretch the 25-foot tape across a room, the five-foot mark is what people think we spend (as much as 20 percent of the budget). The 15-inch mark is what they think we should spend. One of the small colored areas is actually how much we do spend on all foreign aid, including military assistance, money for embassies and political aid. The other tiny section is the part of our foreign aid spent on poverty-focused development — education, clean water, agriculture, health, road building. This amounts to one-half of one percent of the whole federal budget.. This idea is described in greater detail at www.bread.org
* * * Bread for the World does not provide direct service to people who are hungry. People who get involved with the organization do not hand out loaves of bread at soup kitchens. What they do is try to influence elected officials and other government leaders to adopt measures to alleviate or end hunger on a global scale. If you think one person can’t make a difference in a world where so many people are starving and in need of clean drinking water, Bread for the World would agree. But by joining the efforts of one person with another and another and another, we can make a difference. Cardinal Joseph Cardijn inspired the Christian Family Movement to “Observe, Judge and Act.” The initial challenge of that method is to make a clear and true observation – that’s why the 25-foot of adding machine tape could be so valuable. What we think we know to be true may not be true at all, and our judgments and actions would then be based on error.
* * * Take the time to examine one of the traditional “Works of Mercy” — giving food to the hungry, for example. Question what you “know” and examine the reality. If what you see does not conform to what Jesus taught us, than take action. One possible action would be learning more about Bread for the World and how to add your voice to others who have made the same disturbing observations. Or you might find illustrations of other realities, and the ways to help others to see the world through the eyes of a committed Christian, one who knows that what we do for the least of our brothers and sisters, we do for our Lord and Savior.
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