People Or Things?

One great thinker said : ‘Most human problems stem from the fact that we treat people as things and things as people.’ History is littered with various examples of this but the most recent incident is the credit crunch. Bad mortgages in the subprime housing market in America has affected the whole world, leading to closure of establishments which stood for over a 100 years, people losing their livelihood and the once invisible banks being brought to their knees. The banks who learnt the money to people who could not afford it treated people as things, all they where concerned with was making as much money as possible. They did not veto customer credit reports or follow protocol and now everyone is paying for it. Banks and large business paid out multimillion dollar bonus payments to board members, spent lavish amount on trips, parties and entertainment, now a lot of those same business’s are either bust or nationalised. The credit crunch has highlighted the fact that we need to go back to basics and think about our actions. Everything we do has an impact on someone else.

In a christmas speech Barack Obama said "As we count the higher blessings of faith and family, we know that millions of Americans don't have a job. Many more are struggling to pay the bills or stay in their homes. From students to seniors, the future seems uncertain,This season of giving should also be a time to renew a sense of common purpose and shared citizenship. Now, more than ever, we must rededicate ourselves to the notion that we share a common destiny as Americans - that I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper."