Mind Vs. Stomach I have thought about this from my childhood, my position has changed back and
forth, and the time has come for me to once again review my position.
The debate involves the definition of "Quality of Life".
For a very long time, I believed that it was more important for humans to
live with dignity than to live with comfort. So if it was a choice of India
economically prospering under British rule and living in poverty as a free
nation, I felt the latter was better as a citizen. Same thing goes for the
condition of slaves -- the slaves of USA at the time of Abe Lincoln had food and
shelter, but no respect; and after the civil war they were free, but had no jobs
or means of livelihood. But I like said, I believed that living in freedom was
more important than just living.
As I grew up and as I experienced first hand the miseries of human life
and the humiliation of being poor, I changed my position to: Stomach
first, Mind later. See also: A Hungry Man Commits No Sin. I have come to
believe that entertainment, sports, and freedom are the privileges of those who
have had their meal.
Then, yesterday two pieces of news broke out: One was about a ten year boy in
India obtaining a Cisco networking certification (perhaps to feed his family.)
The other one was that India's plan to send a man to the
moon. I have since been in contact discussions on the topic. It is definitely something to chew on.
See Also:
(Comments Disabled for Now. Sorry!) | First Written: Wednesday, August 14, 2002 Last Modified: 8/14/2002 |
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