by Robert Kemper

Created on: April 11, 2009

Is clean drinking water a basic right? The short answer is yes. Sometimes living in the United States makes people naive to conditions in the rest of the world. There are kids and adults in the poorest parts of the world that are unable to have a descent and healthy life for the simple fact that there is no food or water. I don't believe that the people in some of Africa's countries for example want the life they are forced to live with. Most people wouldn't be aware of the poverty in India if it wasn't for the movie Slumdog Millionaire. That shouldn't be the case we should be aware and care for all humans.

All of us have a responsibility to take care of each other no matter where you live or the color of your skin or what language you speak. The United States is the best place in the world but we have people in our own country that are going without something as simple as having clean drinking water. If we were concerned with the health and safety of the people in the world we would make sure that everyone would have clean water and food. With all the advancements in technology you can not convince me that everyone should not have something as basic as clean drinking water. Whether it is a poor white boy in Kentucky or a poor black boy in Africa they deserve to be able to grow up healthy and strong. Every country has this problem.

For the sake of the generations after us I think clean water and food for the poor is just as important as global warming. Global Warming gets the headlines because there are politicians and celebrities that are out there fighting for it. If we focused that much energy and commitment to the impoverished places in the world then we could take care of the problem, not only here at home but across the world. I am the type of person that believes that any crime against a child is wrong. Do we have a lot on our plate? Yes, but we have never backed down before and the children of the world are the ones that will suffer. Global warming I believe is real but as far as the poverty that causes hunger and unclean drinking water is something we can fix in the short term. Let's raise awareness about that! Every child deserves to be on a even playing field from the beginning so they can grow up healthy and have every opportunity to live their dreams.

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