Smart & Good High Schools - The Flippen Group

CHAPTER 5: Fostering the 8 Strengths of Character—Outcome 8WHAT IS OUR OBLIGATION TO THE POOR?“As you did it to one of these least ones, you did itto me.”—MATTHEW, 25:40All men are responsible for one another.—TALMUDNearly half the 6 billion people in the world arepoor. There are three degrees of poverty.“Extreme poverty,” defined by the World Bank asgetting by on less than $1 a day, means that householdscannot meet basic needs for survival. They arechronically hungry, unable to get health care, lacksafe drinking water and sanitation, cannot afford educationfor their children and perhaps lack rudimentaryshelter—a roof to keep the rain out of the hut—and basic articles of clothing, like shoes. We candescribe extreme poverty as “the poverty that kills.”“Moderate poverty,” defined as living on $1 to $2 aday, refers to conditions in which basic needs aremet, but just barely. Being in “relative poverty,”defined by a household income level below a givenproportion of the national average, means lackingthings that the middle class takes for granted.The total number of people living in extreme poverty,the World Bank estimates, is 1.1 billion. Much of theone-sixth of humanity in extreme poverty suffers theravages of AIDS, drought, isolation, and civil wars,and is thereby trapped in a vicious cycle of deprivationand death.Yet our generation, in the U.S. and abroad, canchoose to end extreme poverty by the year 2025 . . .The end of poverty will require a global network ofcooperation . . . The costs of action are a tiny fractionof the costs of inaction . . . The richest and mostpowerful country, long the leader and inspiration indemocratic ideals, is currently barely participating inglobal efforts to end poverty . . . It is time to honorthe commitment to give 0.7% of our national incometo these crucial goals.—JEFFERY SACHS, ECONOMIST,THE END OF POVERTY 53respondents, “What is your religious preference, if any?”,the count of those who identified themselves as “atheist”or “agnostic” surpassed the combined count of Hindusand Buddhists. Adding the atheists and agnostics togetherwith those uninterested in religion, the total came inthird after Catholics and Baptists. Futrell comments:Are we going to teach kids that there are nice, functioningatheists? If not, are we indirectly suggesting that in order tobe moral, you have to be religious? Educators have aresponsibility to be neutral. 55Clearly, in educating about religion and its potential contributionto character development and the commongood, we need to be clear: One does not have to be religiousto be ethical, and being religious is no guarantee ofbeing an ethical person. Just as those who have a religiousworldview want to have their views understood, so,too, those who base their worldview on non-religiousbeliefs and values have an equal right to be understood.A truly democratic commitment to diversity will takepains to be fair toward all perspectives.Whether or not young people comefrom backgrounds of faith, we wantthem to develop faith in somethinglarger than themselves.Whether or not young people come from backgrounds ofreligious faith, we want to challenge them to develop faithin something larger than themselves. Happiness, as nearlyall systems of spiritual thought recognize, requires transcendence—findingourselves by finding something biggerand higher than ourselves.Sharing Our Quest for a Life of PurposeIn challenging students to craft a life of noble purpose,we should remember to share our own stories. We con-Don’t blame poverty on God. People arepoor because others do not share.—MOTHER TERESA208Smart & Good High Schools