February 4 - The Unearned Advantage

In an affluent country such as America, it is almost too easy to take for granted comforts such as clean drinking water and safe sanitation. It's likely that the only exposure I have had to lacking these physiological needs would be camping for extended periods of time in isolated locations - although I could hardly consider myself without access to drinking water or safe sanitation, since many state and national parks make such comforts available to the public. What I'm trying to say is that it's easy to slip under the veil of ignorance and forget about those born into more challenging living conditions.

A few weeks ago, a student in my section discussion raised the question of how one can blame a person for believing in stereotypes when that person has only ever had negative experiences towards that specific class/race/gender/sexual preference which reinforce the stereotype. As a minority at RPI in both race and gender, I have frequently entered this discussion with other multicultural students on campus. My own personal conclusion and answer to this student on this issue would be to interact with as diverse a network of people as possible. Knowledge is a critical component to understanding - only through exposure to different styles of life and personalities can an individual learn about the different perceptions of the world and expand their points of view.

A personal memory of exhibiting such ignorance was from my childhood. Whenever I encountered large insects, my initial reaction was always to flinch and move away from it. My parents would often tease me and then proceed to tell gruesome stories of nights in the Philippines when they would wake up to find cockroaches crawling up the walls or over a siblings face. When I was a child, I didn't understand the point that they were trying to make, however as I've matured I see that they were trying to explain how they came from and grew up in a world significantly different from my own. In a third world country like the Philippines, there is such a severe gap in the standard of living between the rich and poor, which is evident just by walking down the streets of Manila. How is it fair that the affluent and less fortunate can live in such proximity to one another without any extension of help or support? How does the distribution of science and technology come into play in such environments?

In section discussion, it was relatively clear to me that there was a divide between those that choose to be cynical towards the idea of providing clean water and sanitation to less fortunate countries and those that remain optimistic. In my opinion, helping those in need isn't a question of whether or not it's feasible because those in poverty rarely need resources more complicated than potable water and a safe place to use the bathroom. These technologies are fully within the scientific capabilities of more affluent nations - the only thing that's stopping us is our own lack of interest.

Works Cited

Woodhouse, Edward. The Future of Technological Civilization. University Readers, 2013. Print.