If life is a Carnival, most are below deck

While headlines touted the bravery of Carnival Splendor passengers who spent three whole days eating cold food – articles about Haiti’s cholera epidemic were juggled aside.

According to the Associated Press, Carnival passengers endured the hardships of “no air conditioning, no hot food, no hot water, and no casino…”  Birthdays were ruined, swimming pools were off limits, and darkness followed sunsets.  When prayer did not immediately remedy this situation, people turned to warm beer and magic tricks for solace.

Meanwhile in Haiti, most have had “no access to clean water” for months.  According to AolNews, Haiti’s cholera death toll has now exceeded 900.  Many of the refugees from Haiti’s January 2010 earthquake are still “forced to eat raw food or cook communally on open fires, sharing utensils that could spread germs.”

Back in 1906, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto saw this coming.  He astutely calculated that 80% of the “goodies” were to be had by only 20% of the corresponding populations.  This not only applied to the Italian landowners of his time, but even to the peas in his garden.  Pareto noticed that a whopping 80% of these peas were concentrated within a paltry 20% of these pods.

Today’s world economy remains grossly inequitable.  Worldwatch Institute reports that “as many as 2.8 billion people on the planet struggle to survive on less than $2 per day, and more than one billion people

lack reasonable access to safe drinking water.”  On the other hand, “an estimated 65% of U.S. adults are overweight or obese…”

The AP quoted a Carnival passenger as saying:  If you could see the things they put on sandwiches,

seriously, this could be the only cruise ever where people lost weight instead of gaining weight.

Gratitude for the abundance inherent in that statement, as well as a willingness to share it with those less fortunate, is long overdue.  Perhaps prayers could then be offered for cholera-quenching water, as opposed to toilet-flushing water.

Resources

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2010/1111/Carnival-Splendor-finally-reaches-San-Diego-dock-passengers-begin-to-disembark

http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/haitis-cholera-death-toll-passes-900/19716546

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle

http://www.worldwatch.org/node/810#3