The Faith of the Oppressed: In the forgotten lands of the third world, people struggle to survive. Seems obvious, right? Well, according to the Group of 77 as recognized at the United Nations, the growth of a country's gross domestic product (GDP) does not tell the whole story. Take the nation of Mexico for example. Its GDP has been growing steadily over the past few years, and yet some seventy million Mexicans live on five dollars a day or less. As evidenced by its burgeoning GDP and seemingly destitute population, the wealth in Mexico is clearly concentrated in very few hands. And although Mexico is not a member of the Group of 77, it certainly qualifies as a developing nation. Aside from these rather horrendous economic realities, the people of Mexico remain ardently devoted to their Faith, which for the most part, constitutes Roman Catholicism. Karl Marx once said that "religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature," and nothing could be further from the truth in the country of Mexico. Sure, a vast majority of the Mexican people are oppressed, but they do not fill the void created by oppression with religion. The Faith of the oppressed Mexicans is so great that it surpasses any attempt at personification. Besides, the secular progressives, which tend to pervade the industrialized world, could all learn a valuable lesson from the oppressed people of the third world.
Monday, September 3, 2007
The Faith of the Oppressed
The Faith of the Oppressed: In the forgotten lands of the third world, people struggle to survive. Seems obvious, right? Well, according to the Group of 77 as recognized at the United Nations, the growth of a country's gross domestic product (GDP) does not tell the whole story. Take the nation of Mexico for example. Its GDP has been growing steadily over the past few years, and yet some seventy million Mexicans live on five dollars a day or less. As evidenced by its burgeoning GDP and seemingly destitute population, the wealth in Mexico is clearly concentrated in very few hands. And although Mexico is not a member of the Group of 77, it certainly qualifies as a developing nation. Aside from these rather horrendous economic realities, the people of Mexico remain ardently devoted to their Faith, which for the most part, constitutes Roman Catholicism. Karl Marx once said that "religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature," and nothing could be further from the truth in the country of Mexico. Sure, a vast majority of the Mexican people are oppressed, but they do not fill the void created by oppression with religion. The Faith of the oppressed Mexicans is so great that it surpasses any attempt at personification. Besides, the secular progressives, which tend to pervade the industrialized world, could all learn a valuable lesson from the oppressed people of the third world.
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