Spokane7
67°Quick links: 2012 graduating seniors • Summer camp guide • Jobs: The Road Ahead • Prep sports • News quiz
Iraqis search for recyclables on a garbage dump near Najaf, Iraq, Friday. (AP Photo/Alaa al-Marjani)
Question: I was struck by this photo this morning. We fret about the economic conditions of this country; yet, we still have a welfare and unemployment safety net. Meanwhile, the girl or young woman above is scouring a smoldering landfill for a few pop cans. Not only is she caught in poverty but she’s caught in a culture that treats females like chattel. It should be hard to complain too much in this country when such conditions and much worse exist elsewhere. Do you ever consider how fortunate you are to live in this country, in good times or bad?
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
999 W. Riverside, Spokane, WA 99201
P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210
Main switchboard: (509) 459-5000 • (800) 338-8801
Newsroom: (509) 459-5400 • (800) 789-0029
Customer service: (800) 338-8801
© Copyright 2012, The Spokesman-Review
Terms of use • Privacy policy • Copyright policy
Find DFO on Facebook
DFO on Twitter
toadman on February 20 at 9:36 a.m.
“Do you ever consider how fortunate you are to live in this country, in good times or bad?”
Always. Maybe we really ARE a nation of whiners and complainers.
hmoffsuite on February 20 at 9:41 a.m.
toad >>> “Always. Maybe we really ARE a nation of whiners and complainers”
Well said.
Cabbage Boy on February 20 at 10:12 a.m.
On a side note, just because we fight for the right to retain our wealth doesn’t mean we don’t appreciate it.
I often remind myself and my kids that we are truly blessed. A large portion of the world doesn’t even know what free-time or a weekend is.
toadman on February 20 at 12:58 p.m.
More proof that we’re a nation of whiners, and are looking for a quick-fix, of which the bail-out isn’t.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/20/economy.history/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
We need to stop bitching and blame-shifting about the day to day stock market ups and downs, and give the money time to circulate. Patience and perseverance wins the day, not a “get rich quick! lose weight now!” attitude.
I can’t say I’m happy about spending the kind of money we’re spending with this bail-out bill…but I generally don’t like shelling out the kind of money I have to shell out to get new tires or new brakes for my car either. Still, both are necessities, and safety measures, in my opinion.
Stickman on February 20 at 9:00 p.m.
I have traveled the world many times, and we are so fortunate in what we have. To have to worry about your next meal is something most of us can’t imagine.