I sure as hell know I do, there's not one day that goes by that I don't recall that I have pretty much everything I could ever want, and I probably will the rest of my life.
You see, I am the epitomy of the American dream. I'm a fresh, healthy, and excited 20 year old (soon to be 21 ;) ;) college student with very few problems compared to most people. My family's yearly income is substantial, probably in the 150k region, and my parents just moved into a newer, nicer, bigger house. My sister just got engaged and my parents are planning a wonderful wedding for her, and my brother is looking into some nice downtown Chicago lofts. I have a beautiful girlfriend, and I love my classes. There is a wealth of opportunity at my school for business students to find all kinds of internships and jobs after graduation.
Obviously I've got a pretty nice thing going here, but I can't help but wonder if I deserve it. I work hard, I play hard, but what did I do to have so much more than the rest of the world. I'm sure I'm probably within the wealthiest 5% of people in the world, probably more like the wealthiest 1%. Sometimes, I go to sleep at night wondering how I deserve such a better life than say, a little boy from the Congo, or perhaps a teen-ager in Thailand, maybe a middle-aged man from Chile.
And I never can come to a conclusive answer. In the Bible, Jesus mentioned something to the effect of a rich man doesn't take is fortune to the next life, and there's the story where the poor woman gives what she has into a pool of money for other poor people while rich men give countless treasures, and Christ remarked she'd given more.
I just don't know if I could will myself to give up everything. In addition to being a full-time student, I work about 10 hours a week here in the library as a reference assistant, and I'm paying for over half of my school, so I'm not a completel financial drain on my parents.
What can we do to change this feeling? I want to know guys, do you feel guilty for having so much? Maybe part of it is the way the Americans consume so much. When I lived in Rome for a semester, the cars were smaller and more efficient, food was never wasted, and people only bought has much as they needed. We will truly never make it to that scale unless we face the population constraints that Europe does.
What's the solution? I'm asking for your comments. Should I give to a charity that I find particularly commendable? Should I campaign more than normal to elect demcrats who will work for socio-cultural change in society? Should I try and find a way to use my degrees in Marketing and International Business to help people, certainly corporations can be used for good things too (think microbanking and low profit margin sales to the global south, more on that in another diary)?
I'm tired of living in this bubble while the rest of the world is suffering. I want to believe that I'm not an insignificant factor that can't change things, but in the end, I really think I am.
I feel guilty.
Update: I just wanted to thank everyone here for the wonderful responses I have received. Not only is the Kos community well informed for politics, but we can talk about philosophy and life too. I appreciate this a lot everyone!