The United States is a celebrated nation where every citizen can live “the American Dream.” America could be called a promised land, with a low poverty rate and glorified eccentric lifestyles. If leading a hollywood life, with fame and fortune, it is all too easy to forget about the nations that cannot afford to dream of such outlandish success. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has the highest rate of undernourishment. 75% of the population in the Democratic Republic of the Congo does not have enough to eat, and when they do its almost never satisfying.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...” Charles Dickens famous opening line in Tale of Two Cities can be related to the present, the past, and undoubtedly will be relevant in the future. America and The Democratic Republic of the Congo has a world of difference between them. The United States is making exponential advancements in technology and generates previously unimaginable wealth. Some public schools in the United States offer the best education possible. Americans are well fed, well clothed, and endlessly entertained; their life is heaven and everything that could be wanted can be obtained.
“...it was the season of Darkness...it was the winter of despair...” Lives are being lived without hope of anything better. In many third world countries many people do not have the option of rest and eating is an unpromising exertion. Even to be blessed with a family,or to be endowed with unalienable rights is a pointless desire. The average citizen in the Democratic Republic of the Congo earns 320 dollars a year. Some Americans spend this money in a single meal. “...It was the worst of times...” Barely surviving, and intimately familiar with the thought of starvation, many are forced to live this life. A life that the average American will never know.
When Charles Dickens wrote A Tale of Two Cities in the 19th century he wrote that 1775 was very much like the present, and that life in England and life in France were polar opposites. Hundreds of years have passed yet human nature is unsurprisingly unchanged. Humans do not care for fairness, though preachers and humanitarians would argue otherwise, and will seek no real answer to the problems of starvation and destitution as long as they are well fed. These answers will be hard to come by, and extreme, but they cannot be thought of as impossible when no effort has been made to find them.