Disparity

The word disparity keeps coming to my mind. For several days I've been reading everything I can find on cholera because people I know in Haiti are now fighting that battle. And here at home, it has been homecoming week. Football games, class competitions, carnival, volleyball games, and last night's homecoming cruise on Lake Washington that ultimately took us near Bill Gates' little place on the water. With very little research I discovered that "according to King County public records, as of 2002, the total assessed value of the property (land and house) is $113 million, and the annual property tax is just over $1 million. Also according to the National Association of Home Builders, the median American house size is slightly more than 2,000 square feet. Microsoft founder William Gates III house is more than 30 times that size." [http://labnol.blogspot.com/2005/05/inside-bill-gates-home.html]
Yeah, it was totally impressive.

Disparity... Now I'm not here to bash Bill Gates. I am well aware of his investment in health care and education both here and abroad. But what do we do about disparity? My husband and I talked today about ourselves, the cruise we went on with our students last night. Seriously, what a fabulous evening! The kids were gorgeous in their pretty dresses and nice suits. Dancing, singing, and laughing hilariously, everyone had so much fun. But as we passed along the shoreline, we wondered how many people were living under the bridges, homeless, cold and wet, hungry?

Disparity... What must we do? Should we stop the party? Stop homecoming and prom and school plays, all activities that cost a lot of money, and put that money into something to help the poor? Would it help the poor? I just don't know. How do we respond to the suffering in the world?