Sad Statement – Thoughts From The Middle of Nowhere

I read a couple of different stories this morning that piqued my interest and really made me wonder. Neither story was worth thinking about on its own but together really made me wonder about mankind's motivations. The first story deals with <a title="Mistrust hampers Afghan opium battle" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4066525.stm" target="_blank">opium production</a> in Afghanistan and the other deals with <a title="Disease, hunger big problem for world's children" href="http://www.billingsgazette.com//index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/12/06/build/world/50-disease-hunger.inc" target="_blank">hunger</a> throughout the world particularly among children. n nMany moons ago my Darling Wife, while having a attack of self doubt, asked me "what difference do you make in the world, what do you do that matters." n nI told her without pause, "I raise food that helps feed people. This is one of the most important things in the world to do. Humans requires three things to survive in this world; food, water, and shelter. While many people may argue with me everything after that is icing on the cake. I may be a lowly educated slob but I provide one of these basic items to people and I am proud of it." n nMy point in this story is that it seems to me like a pretty sad statement on human society in general when, as a farmer, it makes more sense to grow illegal drugs to support your family than it is to grow food to feed all people who need fed in this world. I can understand why farmers would make such a decision, but it would be nothing to be proud of. A farmer could hold his head high and say "I grow food," but to say "I grow drugs" is a statement on what it takes to survive, not what you are proud to do. A sad statement on humanity for sure. n n We cannot despair of humanity, since we ourselves are human beings. Albert Einstein