Commodies Responsibilities

12/11/2000

The first thing I must address today is the poverty of Beijing. Cyn showed me her old house. When she was a girl she lived in a very small shack and shared a pit called a bathroom with too many families. Beijing is changing. The city is employing poor farmers who would normally be outside the city to build the new Beijing. The new Beijing will be a lot like a clean American city with a subway system already in place, 8 lane highways, and a person for every job. As the average citizen gains more liberty with all of the commodities that are given in this city, a paradox is developing. In two days I have seen five children searching for food. Adults don't beg like the children do, they just sit on the ground with their heads buried in shame. Their only possession is a cup for coins. The children attack the apathy of strangers by hugging people's legs and blocking their paths. The children wait at McDonald's for scraps of food. I made two friends today. They could not speak English, but hunger has no language. I saw God in their shame turned to happiness when I gave them a sandwich.