The First World.

Why is it that we in the First World allow the inequalities and injustices that plague our world?

We work long hours and are on call 24/7.
This occupies a lot of our mental panorama.

We are obsessed with sports and celebrities.
This distracts us from any idealistic endeavor.

We rely on shopping and expensive holidays to compensate for overwork.
This is very good for the economy and ensures that we have to work hard to pay for it all.

The media is controlled to such an extent that we seldom see what is happening in the Third World.  There is no news of exploitation or land grabs because the media is owned by those who exploit and grab.

All financial information is private.
This ensures that no one ever finds out who is perpetrating injustices in our world.

We sit back and take our dividends and never ask any questions.
Our questions would not be answered if we did ask them.

The occasional begging letter registers as a minor irritation.

So everything is geared towards the status quo.

In fact the gap between the world's rich and poor has increased since the free-market economy became our god.

We are just now beginning to see that we have been deceived.
But we were willing participants in this deception.
We deceived ourselves.

We readily accept our First World moral ease.
We are so good.

But this is a veneer which hides what our companies and governments do.

No one wants to question the status quo.

We blame refugees and immigrants and ignore the poor and hungry.

Is it any wonder that Third World countries resort to violence and civil war?

We oppress them indirectly through our companies and corporations.

And no one asks any questions.