Abundance Isn't Everywhere--A Paragraph a Day

When I was teaching a World Studies course this past semester, I did my best to make sure that my students knew that not all is well with our world.  How can all be well when something like 25,000 people a day are dying of hunger or causes related to hunger, while in other countries we waste 25-40% of our food?  It's easy to get caught up in an "abundance" mentality as long as we're willing to ignore that right now, people are going to bed hungry, or even dying hungry, while many of us have much more food than we need, and we end up throwing much of it away.  I don't want to make all seem like doom and gloom for my students, but it's important that our young people know that earlier generations (mine included) haven't done particularly well with the world.  I want them to be aware of issues like hunger so that they recognize it when they see it in their own lives and perhaps will be able to do something about it in their own sphere of influence.  I truly wish that there were a way to pack up some food and send it to people who need it, but there's no such luck.  Perhaps the young people who are learning about these problems now will be able to do something significant to deal with them.  That's my hope, anyway.  Help starts with awareness.  Awareness starts with learning.