If you were like me and grew up in the ’90s, then you know full well that there were starving children in the world then and that there are now. Most of this information came via the way of television ads featuring Sally Struthers and other assorted, distinguished-looking celebrities wearing rugged, outdoorsy clothing and walking among the destitute children of undisclosed areas of Africa or Asia. We were told that for something like seventy cents a day, we could make a huge difference in one of these kid’s lives. They’d even send photos of the kid every so often to prove that they are actually kids getting aid.
We’ve still to resolve that whole hunger and poverty thing, in fact, we still have problems with it in the western world, never mind remote corners of the world that we’ve only dreamed of. Something like 109 million Americans receive some form of welfare from the government, and there are a lot of people here that point fingers and blame these people for not working hard enough. It’s probably not that cut-and-dry.
Interestingly enough, a judge in Italy might have just shifted some of the balance of power when it comes to the homeless and their inability to purchase food. Yahoo! reports that a judge in Rome has acquitted a man accused of stealing $4.72 of food, which sent him to prison. The ruling was that the man was simply doing what he needed to do to survive. While this won’t change the world in a heartbeat, it does set a precedent and show compassion for those who are simply hungry and unable to buy their own food.
(Via Yahoo!)
