Wake-Up Call

It seems that I have forgotten that I am spoiled. Raised in a family with parents who emphasize the importance of morals, fairness, responsibility, hard work, health, and humanity, I was led to believe that most, if not all, people had these same ideals and acted upon them. These rose-colored glasses remained in front of my eyes when I came to Wellesley College, surrounded by the thoughtful, hilarious, knowledge-thirsty, complex women that come here to learn. I forget that these people that I have grown up with, lived with, and loved, my family and friends, are not like the rest of the world.

This is not to say that I have gone the years believing that every country is as wealthy as the United States (speaking in statistics here, like GDP/capita and average household income, I'm aware of the poverty that exists here, as well). This is not to say that I am unaware of the injustices that are brought upon millions of people around the world as we speak. But I was unaware of the fact that individuals with access to the same resources, ideas, knowledge, and people as myself would so easily throw aside the responsibility that I believe we all have to make or hope for the world to become a better place.

Development economics, specifically with respect to women around the world has been brought to the attention of the eyes of Americans thanks to the NYTimes magazine centered around Kristof's new book about the role of women in the global hope for development, growth, and the betterment of living standards.

However, it seems that some fail to understand the connection between helping half of the world's population and helping all of it. I don't think I'm able to talk about the specifics of the even that triggered this post, but I'll just say that I was thoroughly disappointed and shocked, and even hurt, frankly, by the rejection and belittlement of the significance of women's equality and development as an urgent global issue.

I don't care what part of the political spectrum you come from, what your social policy agenda is like...humanity is something that we must all seek to uphold.