posted on Oct, 24 2008 @ 07:06 PM
I was raised in a well-to-do family; I had the good fortune of never worrying about acquiring luxuries or, much less, necessities. I was raised around
both working class and upper class individuals, though I must disclose that most of my social time was spent among those of "like society". In the
upper class society, it is easy to grow up without any sense of a differing reality. It was, and still is, quite rare to find a young person within
this social group who has a true sense of what poverty is--what it means for humans who must live with it. Our family was quite different. From an
early age both my brother and I were made well aware of the sundry ways in which human beings live. As soon as they believed me mature enough (if I
recall correctly, around age seven or eight), I began to travel with my father on aid trips to different regions. As a teenager, I began to do my own
travel for aid work, independent of my father. If I had not been urged toward this type of experience, I fear I would be quite a bit closer to the
stereotype of the oblivious, narrow-minded "rich kid".
Unfortunately, it is not just the wealthy classes that have this lack of understanding and perspective. It is an epidemic in the West, among all
classes.
[edit on 24/10/08 by paperplanes]