Can nowadays the word “imbalance” mean “balance” as well? Such question sounds like a contradiction in terms, I know. Nevertheless, it occurred to me, while pondering on some news I heard not too long ago. Last month I had read (and soon after I had written) about the Asia Nobel Prize, where selfless people were praised for their good deeds toward the needy. Then I heard about a millionaire from ... a country of this world who was planning a birthday party in Sardinia that would cost him about 1 million euro — peanuts for him, I guess. Five hundred thousand euros will go to the famous European singer who will attend the celebration, thirty thousand for a five-hour rental of the beach from the town. The rest... food, drinks and other kinds of entertainment, I guess.
It’s funny how I cannot come to terms, till now, with such waste of money. I keep telling myself that these people also provide work to the caterers, florists, waiters... all the people whose task is to prepare such lavish events.
Yes, yes... all true. Nevertheless, the view of so much poverty around the world pops in front of my mind’s eyes and... I can’t swallow the morsel stuck in my throat.
I have personally seen wedding parties where so much money was thrown down the drain just for one night, just a for a few hours... for what? To “appear”, to show off in front of people whom the hosts don’t even care about, people they sometimes don’t even know! Mountains of food is displayed, barely touched and then... thrown away, into the trash...
On a different topic, but with the same ethical meaning, is the carelessness of some about water. They let it flow even if they are not using it, while brushing their teeth or drying their hands. When I happen to see this waste even in movies, I physically suffer. I get restless and wish I could get into the screen and shut the faucet myself. I sometimes even say out loud, “You forgot to close the tap!”. And I can’t relax till I see someone turn it off. Am I exaggerating, here? I am sure that some will think so. “What’s the big deal?, they think, Those people have the money and it’s their right to spend it the way they want”. “Some water wasted? But there is still plenty in the wells. We are not lacking any”.
Sad, sad, way to reason. Here we go again with the “I”: As long as I am okay, who cares? Or the over-accepting, “Good for them if they can afford it”, meaning, “I wish I could, too” or “Who cares?” or “It’s their right”. This is the mentality that has brought the world to be the way it is, and it doesn’t seem to be in a very good shape, does it?
I am neither a clever economist nor a knowledgeable environmentalist. But I have a mind that knows how to think logically and, why not, ethically. Something is ethical when it is morally correct. And something is, or is not, moral when it is concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior.
As we endeavor to be non-judgmental, also in this case we should admit that yes, everybody has the right to behave they way they prefer. It is a trifle more difficult to accept such behavior, though. The definition of the
verb waste is “use or expend carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose”. Well, no one can deny that the world is presently undergoing a big crisis (formed by many crises in different sectors). You, too, in spite of the apparent “normality” of your daily life, must be aware that many things are not going the way they should.
“I can’t do anything”, you may say at this point. Well, it’s not totally true. You can do something. There is always “something” that each of us can do. If you are used to spending one thousand (dollars, euros, riyals, rupees...) for something that you, deep inside, know it is not worth such price, think twice next time. I am not saying that you should go down to, let’s say, fifty. “The virtue lies in the middle” is one of my favorite sayings that I often quote. If everybody followed its wisdom, there wouldn’t be so much “imbalance” in our world. As I wrote at the beginning, the problem is that this lack of “equilibrium” has reached such a point where it is considered normal, and it is generally accepted without much surprise or considered unfavorably.
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Creative Thinking: A 1 m euro party
