Re: That is part of the problem here...
Snuffy,
I don't doubt you're speaking from the heart. It's terribly wrong that someone didn't help out when you needed help, especially with a sick baby. It doesn't make me happy to hear it, and I have no doubt you have other stories too.
I'm an idealist, so take me out and shoot me, but I don't believe it's black and white. I remember reading a fascinating article in Arizona years ago-- I believe this is a well known sociological study, but I don't know source.
Typical American kids and poor Mexican kids were taught how to play Xs & Os. Money was given to the kids who won each time. The Americans tried their hardest to win each time, and the winner felt no remorse for winning excessively. The Mexican kids, contrarily, took turns allowing one another to win-- they shared the wealth.
I think the study was looking at morality and integrity. But were those Mexican kids dishonest? I think not. In a culture of plenty, one set of values would appear to be the 'right' set. But things change very quickly, primitive human nature asserts itself very quickly, when basic survival needs like food, water, and shelter, are at stake. Most in this forum have never needed to face these circumstances.
I like Spinoza's way of thinking: I do not wish for myself what I do not wish for every other man. So I plan to approach all people in the DR with kindness. I have always found and met good people in my life, and I ... perhaps foolishly... trust that it will continue so. I wouldn't even dream of doing as andy suggested if it weren't from a genuine love of people. As to who might become a friend, I have no idea.
I also have no intention of standing on street corners handing out pesos. But if I knew someone down the road here in Alberta who spoke Dominican Spanish, I'd be thrilled to offer to pay well for help in learning it. I would think it invaluable-- to me. I'd be more happy to learn the language in such a way that my money was also helping someone who had very little there. Less formal, but an exchange of value for value. That's fair.
The systemic poverty in the DR is troubling. My deepest thought on it all is this: when a man is hungry, give him a fish and feed him for a day. Give him a fishing rod and feed him forever.
The question is: how? What are the fishing rods? I don't believe humans are naturally lazy, as is suggested in some posts. I simply don't believe it. I do believe that many are downtrodden, their spirits without hope... it is the lack of hope that looks like laziness. Everyone needs reasons to live and try his best. shit, just the fact that at the break of dawn 'the men are already gone'... where? to work, I suspect, trying to support a family.
All of this is so NOT simple. I appreciate your thoughts too-- to stand by your values is the only way to live. That's what I will do too. If I'm wrong, take me out and shoot me.
D