The motivation experts or commencement speakers at educational institutions always tell us to think big and have big dreams. However, I believe in the opposite. A little dream will bring happiness. It’s better to have a little hope and a little love in life.
Recently a video from Afghanistan became viral when a 5-year-old boy started dancing with his prosthetic leg. According to his mom, the family was caught in a fight between Taliban and government forces. As an infant, the boy and his little sister were seriously wounded. With the help of an international aid organization, the boy received this prothetic leg after a long four years.
A purely man-made tragic conflict created numerous stories, some that include a little happiness like this one. The unending smiling and dancing of the Afghan boy touched the hearts of millions, reflecting the fact that most people have empathy, kindness and appreciation of life.
On the other hand, most of the people around the world do not know what dream are and how to dream big. They just need the basic necessities of life – daily food to eat, clothes, a little shelter and primary healthcare so that they can survive until their natural death. In addition, a little education helps make a better life. These minimum requirements would certainly bring happiness to billions of people around the world.
However, the reality is different. According to “Our World in Data” about 10 percent of the world population is still living in extreme poverty on less than $1.90 per day. More than 10 percent are illiterate. More specifically, about 2 billion under the age of 15 have no education. Still, 5-year old kids die because of malnutrition and lack of vaccination, and a large number of people are homeless in every country of the world including USA.
In the meantime, every country in the world is spending billions of dollars in arms races, fighting and killing without thinking of human value.
How do you feel when the wealthy use the back-door, spending millions to get admission for their kids to prestigious universities in the USA? Even a foreign rich family spent millions of dollars to get admission for their daughter. Is it because of big dreams and big expectations? One might argue it’s only a few cases. But think about it: Not everyone is a celebrity. Look at a few celebrities. What is their impact on society?
I admire certain billionaires’ efforts in giving away their wealth for the better life of those unfortunate 10 percent population of the world. Who knows, it could be even worse if that money were not spent in healthcare and in alleviating poverty.
There is no doubt over the last two centuries, the world made a giant leap in the progress of human developments in all fields, including the basic necessities in human life. Maybe it’s not enough while standing in the 21st century. That’s why the data reveal that more than nine out of 10 people think the world is not getting better.
Though long back, Karl Marx came up with a euphoric idea to meet the basic necessities of life, even curtailing freedom but that too utterly failed in every communist country. But the concept of socialism remains, which may help in building poverty-free society one day. Let’s have this little hope.
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