Fixing Poverty With Smiles

Jump to Last Post 1-4 of 4 discussions (15 posts)
  1. aguacate profile image59
    aguacateposted 12 years ago

    http://s2.hubimg.com/u/6800457_f248.jpg
    Smiles are contagious. You could make someone's day one thousand times better by just smiling at them on the street. What if you could fix poverty with smiles, or so to speak. Bare with me, Guatemala is poverty stricken but does anyone know the real reason why?
    It may have started with Joseph Arbenz. He was the man in the great history of Guatemala that wanted to unite the people, Mayans and Guatemaltecos, for a greater cause. However, the task was that too great for any man to accomplish, especially if a very large and relatively powerful country, such as the United States (and that is who it was) to get in the way. The United States claimed that what Mr. Arbenz was doing and his goal was "Communism." The United States essentially gave the power to the government in Guatemala (which was corrupt as it still is today) to do everything to stop what Mr. Arbenz was doing.
    Later, the United States did PUBLICALLY apologize for what they had done, but is it really the United State's fault for the poverty that is still hovering over that small country? Did the US get in the way of the only man that could have freed the people from chains of dust? How many other Latin American men could accomplish what Mr. Arbenz was going to accomplish?
    If you go to Guatemala, in some parts of the country people will hate you only because you are "gringo." It is not a joke, the term is racist to us. The hatred may truely come from the fact that we as United States citizens, and our government did to them as a country. They could be united and have looked poverty in the eye already and said, "Gracias a Dios, nuestra gente ya ganaron." Ane the fight would be over.

    I went there and I looked poverty in the eyes, in the children's eyes.
    On my way back I was sitting next to a man in the US Army who did Optical work for the children there. I tried to tell him how incredibly lucky he was to be able to have pictures of children he didn't know and to get as close to them as he did. I told him about Mr. Arbenz and all he said to me was, "Well, I'm sure there will be plenty more 'Arbenz's' to come." I wanted to throw up on him. He is just like every other man from a military unit the US I have met. They really have no idea and they always think they know better. He would not have a job if the First Arbenz had succeeded.

    Now to my point with the smiles, the children are the future of countries like Guatemala. They are the ones who can change and make the difference. However, first they need an education. Right now, in Chiquimula, Guatemala; students are protesting the government's new law for students to attend school for three years instead of just two to be teachers. The student are literally shutting down the schools, I have seen this with my own eyes, and having demonstrations/gatherings in the streets and blocking them.
    How on earth are the students even allowed to be doing this? Why do they have so much power? They should all have their bodies in a desk/chair in school listening and learning, because they are wasting time, and by time I mean WEEKS, that they could be cutting off of the total amount of time they have to be in school.
    The smaller children, are lucky to go to school. Those are the children that will change the country. They are small, dirty, and scared. They look like they are being watched and if they make a wrong move, they will be killed. These are the children I tell to smile. "With a smile, the world cannot hurt you. With a smile, you will win."
    A smile can give a person confidence and reassurance that they can do anything. The smaller children are better off not attending schools in Guatemala, the teachers know almost nothing.

    So, if the smaller children can be bought with smiles and taught with wisdom. But who can do it? Even liscensed teachers in the US force their opinion on students. I for one was always the student that told many of my teachers to "teach the material and not to preach their beliefs, churches are for that, and Heaven forbid the word 'God' be brought up in a public school."
    I am less than impressed with child care in the US also. People who are hired to take care of other people's offspring are less than well dressed and would do some good being introduced to toothepaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, and antibacterial soap. They cannot do this task either.

    Malnutrition is also a problem but not a problem anyone can fix by giving them food. Beans and tortillas are a cultural confort of the country. Even I can recall many times, when a whole meal was prepared: chicken soup, salad, enchiladas, or rice; and I still ate beans and tortillas and that was it. It is a family food and comfort food. Even people there will choose the beans and tortillaa over other foods. Malnutrition cannot be fixed in the way of food.
    Poverty may not be the cause of the malnutrition because they have food, a lot of it. In some places, mangos are free because there are so many trees. They have cahsew apples, cahsews, oranges, apples, avocados, rice beans, and much more. But they sell these crops to eachother and to travelers.

    This is only to provoke thought and to shed some light on this issue. I have a plan to help but it will take millions of dollars more than likely, but it will open up job oppertunities for many people including families at a time. I am still on the planning stages, but I want this to happen even if I die, I wnat someone to have a heart and stand up for what is right.

    Any thoughts and questions are welcome. Ideas, and thought may help me make the plan even bigger and more benificial to the people there.
    Thanks.

    1. American View profile image61
      American Viewposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Should have made this a hub

      1. aguacate profile image59
        aguacateposted 12 years agoin reply to this

        I don't know what to make a Hug and what not...

    2. aguacate profile image59
      aguacateposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      THIS IS NOW A HUB.

  2. WriteAngled profile image81
    WriteAngledposted 12 years ago

    I do not see the point you are trying to make.

    In one breath you argue people should be subservient to US charity, in another you seem to deny this.

    Are you from Guatemala?

    Has the voice of resistance faded to nothing in Guatemala?

    Is the Guatemalan Solidarity Network to be considered as being irrelevant to the needs of Guatemala now?

    1. aguacate profile image59
      aguacateposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      And by your comment it is clear and provent o me once again, that nothing can be understood until it is lived.
      Sympathy and Empathy.
      And the voice of resistance may have faded to nothing, if you truely understand the people and the government.

      Here is the bigger question for you specifically, if you hear a gunshot ar a series of gunshot, do you:
      A. look to find where they are
      B. drop to the ground
      C. keep walking

      Your answer will help me in the greater scale my project.

      1. WriteAngled profile image81
        WriteAngledposted 12 years agoin reply to this

        I do not understand your answer.

        1. aguacate profile image59
          aguacateposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          Just answer the gunshot question please. This is partial reasearch and partial point proving.

    2. aguacate profile image59
      aguacateposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      *Sorry for the typo*

  3. WriteAngled profile image81
    WriteAngledposted 12 years ago

    Having never heard a gunshot in my whole life, I cannot say how I would react.

    1. aguacate profile image59
      aguacateposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you.
      Due to the fact that you have never heard a gunshot, you have no reaction. But the human reaction is panic because scientifically, a gunshot is almost impossible to stop and impossible to see the ending target unless you are the shooter, correct?
      This was not what i had in mind, but I can approach it a bit differently.

  4. Ralph Deeds profile image71
    Ralph Deedsposted 12 years ago
    1. aguacate profile image59
      aguacateposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      gracias, me boy a ver...

      1. aguacate profile image59
        aguacateposted 12 years agoin reply to this

        aye Dios, "me voy a ver..."

    2. aguacate profile image59
      aguacateposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Muy hermoso es el video, gracias. Estoy llorando porque yo espero el mundo fue el mismo de eso hombre en negro. El era la Esperanza de el hombre ciego. Gracias por compartirlo.

 
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)