Tell me... is it bad to think this way?

Have you ever seen those commercial ads that have a person walking down the dirty streets of some third-world country with a cute, yet sad looking child walking with them, while talking about how if you donate just mere pennies a day, you can save their life?

*I tired to find the ad I saw yesterday on YouTube, but I could not find it.... sorry....*

Chances are, you have.  

I just wonder really how much of your supposed "cost of a coffee every day" really is being used to help these children.  You see, I happen to have a heart and believe that we are all responsible to help one another.  I guess it comes down to the saying... "If you give a man a fish, he eats for a day, but if you teach a man to fish, he can eat for a lifetime."  Now, I have seen these ads for years, still asking for help.  Call me a cynic, but I have my doubts that little child is really suffering if they have clothes on, a clean face and brushed hair.  Maybe I happen to agree with the sarcastic comment by Sam Kinnison about world hunger.  Here is what I mean....

Seeing the sad child walking the streets with no shoes on, holding an empty plate with tears in their eyes...  Sad thing to see, right?  I just happen to think about other things surrounding this scenario....  A narrator that has his bottle of water, a camera crew with food in the truck, a director that has the only concern of making this ad look so sad that people will feel compelled to give away money they do not have to help these poor souls, but get a really nice paycheck to take his family to Disney World in sunny Orlando, Florida.  Can you see my point of view?  Yes, Sam Kinnison was quite funny about his spin to help cure world hunger, but it has such a ring of truth to it.

I have a slightly different feeling when it comes to animals.  The ads for the ASPCA really are painful to watch.  Seeing the sad eyes to dogs and cats that have been abused and malnourished angers me, but makes me want to cry.  I am an animal lover to the core.  I would love to be a part of helping those solemn creatures that show unconditional love, but sadly, a majority of the shelters have placed a large price tag to bring one home.  The economy has squashed my hopes of doing my part in bringing a furry little friend into my home.

   

I do happen to see a pattern when it comes to these TV ads....  They are both educational when it comes to telling us that life is not easy.  There is pain and strife everywhere, but money is not necessarily the solution if these ads have been running for years.  A new concept must be seen in order to make the biggest change to the dilemmas that people and animals face.....  Compassion is one thing, but to constantly beg for money should not be the other.  Yep, it is sad to admit this....  but I am not the one that gets letters with pictures of the person or animal that I helped with my donations of mere pennies a day because I do not have pennies to spare.  I am the one that feels compelled to have an opinion and an idea.  If you cannot grow food where you live... you need to move.  If you really want to give a good home to an animal, make it cheaper to adopt for families that are capable of giving them a loving home.  If you really care about making a change, you need to lower the cost to make it affordable to all.  Destroy the greed and chances are, the problems in this world would become less and maybe just go away....  It all boils down to doing something for the greater good of it all...

So tell me... is it bad to think that these ads that beg for money are just ploys to line some foundations pockets instead of really making a difference?