"O give me your tired, your poor ...."

As the U.S. presidential race heats up to a fever pitch, more and more voters are seizing the opportunity to vent their frustration as to the nature of politics. Some are also saying that the U.S. is “past its prime” . . . that just as ancient Rome fell into irreparable turmoil and decay, so too, the U.S. is following suit.

But before too many people jump on that bandwagon, perhaps one might keep in mind that even with all of its warts and faults, the United States still offers a vision of hope and promise for the world’s suffering.

Not long ago, I met a student whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Liberia (West Africa). After the student and I got to know each other, he shared with me how -- when he was a small boy -- his parents had hidden him away in a box and packed the box in their car as they drove down dirt roads and through bombed out cities as they escaped the carnage and horror of Liberia’s civil war. Eventually, they were able to find their way on to a cargo ship that brought them to get to the U.S. Now, the young boy is a college student here in America -- studying to be a doctor.

As grim tales of cannibalism and brutality of West Africa's civil wars emerge at the war crimes trial now underway for former Liberian President Charles Taylor, one can hardly imagine the fear that must have gripped thousands of people like my young friend’s parents. Despite its faults and misgivings, America offered them a haven of safety and security. And these many years later, my friend, his parents and many more like them are quite happy to now call the United States their home -- and themselves Americans.

"Out of sight, out of mind"

Despite the fact that few media organizations are providing news coverage about the on-going situation in Sudan, the crisis there continues. Yet despite the absence of new reporters in Darfur, a representative of the United Nations remains in the region to tell the world what she sees.

The United Nations' special investigator for Sudan -- Sima Samar, an Afghan doctor and human rights expert -- said Arab and African countries are supporting efforts to eliminate the mandate which stationed her in the troubled region. A number of countries are ignoring abuses in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan because of political alliances, Dr. Samar explains. She notes that there has also been a rise this year in attacks on humanitarian workers and convoys. In her latest report, Dr. Samar said that those responsible for the violence and disorder have not been prosecuted or held accountable. At this point, up to 300,000 Darfur residents have been killed and 2,500,000 million driven from their homes since the conflict began in 2003.

The European Union is proposing Dr. Samar remain in Sudan for another year. A vote at the 47-nation rights council is expected next week.

May we be ever mindful of the suffering of those we do not see.

... and the poor get poorer.

Few people would disagree that the economy is a mess. Banks are failing -- and the stock markets continue to tumble. Major corporations and businesses are going bankrupt. And the national currency is losing value. But it’s not just happening in the U.S.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has introduced a $1,000 note -- $10 trillion in the old value -- as the country battles to end cash shortages in its hyper-inflation. Analysts say, however, that the new note -- which can only buy a loaf of bread -- will not ease pressure on cash shortages because of the ever-increasing prices. Since 2000, Zimbabwe's currency has been depreciating against major currency. It is trading around $350 Zimbabwean dollars -- $35 trillion in the old value -- against the U.S. dollar.

Within the last few days, the Russian government has pumped more money into its increasingly stressed banking sector. Its stock exchanges have also suspended trading ... fearing that the country’s economy would collapse as it did 10 years ago. Stocks are declining in Asian markets -- as they are experiencing their worst performance in nearly a decade.

Quite simply, things are just not looking good.

But in the midst of it all of this turmoil, those who suffer most are the poor. Whenever economic times get tough, the gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots” seems to grow ever wider. The “haves” want to hang on to what they have -- and the “have nots” go without. When economic times are tight, any fundraising professional will tell you that charitable giving falls off ... sometimes so far off that programs which feed the hungry or provide shelter for the homeless have to be downsized or eliminated altogether. Quite simply, those once-generous people hunker down and hold on to what they have. And those who “have not” -- the poor -- don’t even get the scraps that fall from "the master’s table."

Maybe that explains why Jesus was able to say with confidence, “the poor will always be with you.” (John 12: 8)

Seven years later ...

This week mark’s the seventh anniversary of the terrorist attack on the United States that claimed the lives of thousands of Americans. And while many of us still ponder the events of that day -- events which brought down skyscrapers and struck at the heart of American society -- recent polls show that Americans are less concerned today about another terrorist attack than any time since September 11, 2001.

As the U.S. presidential election draws nearer and candidates and supporters of both parties continue to look for creative ways to “sling mud” -- instead of looking for Osama bin Laden, Americans are more concerned with the numbers of young men and women dying in Iraq and Afghanistan, the surging price of oil and food and the crash of the housing market. With wholesale inflation rising nearly 10% in the last year (the biggest annual increase since 1981) and unemployed higher than any time within the past five years -- terrorism seems to be the least of our worries.

And in the midst of all this, perhaps we can learn something from the poor ... especially those men and women in Third World countries who often seem so “out of touch” with rest of the globe.

Recently -- after visiting Kenya -- a friend of mine remarked that she did not understand how most of the people in East Africa seemed to live unaware of what was going on in the rest of the world. “Even though they have newspapers and many listen to the radio,” she said, “they don’t seem concerned.”










But perhaps the poor are more concerned with finding the food and clean water they need today. Perhaps they do not have time to worry about the things that “might” happen. Instead, they are concerned with the trials that face them here and now -- today and maybe tomorrow.

For those of us who have lived that way, it puts life in a whole new perspective.

Now that the parties are over ...

The Democratic Convention has come and gone and, as of this writing, the Republican Convention is drawing to a close. To the delight of some and the regret of others, there were no big surprises. Each party got its nominee and so the race for president of the U.S. continues. But now that the conventions are over, and President Bush counts down the days until he moves out of the White House, perhaps one might reflect on what America has done during these last eight years to make life better -- to make the world a better place. In addition to continuing to fight the war on terror and scouring the hills, oceans and valleys desperately looking for new sources of oil -- what has this nation done for the poor?

Nearly six years ago, President Bush vowed to "turn the tide against AIDS" in Africa. With his words, the U.S. invested $15 billion to help extend the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and eased the sense of certain doom once experienced by millions of others. In his 2003 State of the Union address, Bush promised to prevent 7 million new infections while treating at least 2 million people with antiretroviral drugs.

"I ask the Congress to commit $15 billion over the next five years, including nearly $10 billion in new money, to turn the tide against AIDS in the most afflicted nations of Africa .... This nation can lead the world in sparing innocent people from a plague of nature," he said.

But in the worst-hit areas, situated mainly on Africa's southern tip, the tide has not turned. The epidemic continues to spread at a horrible pace showing little sign of easing. Research shows that people are contracting HIV much faster than sick ones can be put on crucial antiretroviral drugs.

The President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, has not found a way to prevent a significant number of the estimated 1.7 million new cases of HIV each year in Africa. Nearly half of today's 15-year-olds in South Africa, one of the biggest beneficiaries of the program, will contract the virus in their lifetimes at current infection rates. Without a doubt, the AIDS crisis -- in Africa and elsewhere throughout the world -- will take much more than money to stop or even control. It may take a complete change of lifestyle for everyone involved ... complex changes in worldview and even in culture.

“Too bad,” someone remarked, “giving money is so much easier.”