“If you are born poor its not your mistake, But if you die poor its your mistake.” (Bill Gates) I have tremendous amount of respect for Bill Gates, but this is really one of the worst quotes that I have come across. You know why I believe Bill Gates got it totally wrong ? Because you cannot empathize with the poor unless you have faced poverty yourself. You cannot fathom the tremendous cost of being poor. You cannot imagine what it takes for a poor person to get rid of the trap of poverty. As they say, the worst part of being poor is that you are left with no time. Its like one cannot empathize with the differently abled unless one is himself/herself differently abled. In fact, those who havent faced poverty are the ones who romanticize it. They are the ones who click pictures of half-naked starving poor kids or poor frail old men and women, get them photoshopped and put them for display in art galleries with the caption This is Real India Gandhi had once stated, India lives in its villages. I remember Arundhati Roy commenting once that India doesnt live in its villages, India DIES in its villages. Wealth does not ensure happiness, but poverty certainly ensures unhappiness. (and by the way, poverty is NOT a state of mind.) So if you really want to help the poor, help them empower themselves. I you are doing some bit of charity, you are not contributing to the real cause, you are only pleasing yourself. Charity cannot be the foundation of a strong society. Do not blame the poor for being poor. Get rid of your own entitlement complex. Realize that you owe a responsibility towards the society and the nation and therefore you are duty bound to empower (not just help) others.
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 07:09:57 +0000
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