When I was a kid, my mother used to tell me that I had to finish my plate because there were kids in Africa that had nothing to eat. I did not understand how, but I was happy to eat all of my food to feed a kid on the other side of the ocean.
It took me a couple of years to understand what my mom really meant: be thankful for all that you have. And certainly, I am. I went to college, got a job, traveled abroad and I am currently living in the land where The Dream comes true. On the other side of the fence, “American” refers to a whole continent and that must be the reason why we thought it was our dream too.
In fact, 77% of us think that the American Dream is achievable compared to the 62% of the general population of the US. We are, in our essence, worshipers, devoted followers of virgins, saints, and all kinds of deities. And maybe because of that, the American Dream did not seem to us that different from one of the main Christian promises.
Life after death suggests that everyone has a seat available in heaven as long as we work hard enough on Earth. It does not matter what our social status is, our gender, or our ethnicity because it only depends on how good of a person we have been in life. Painful? Nothing to worry about, the reward is coming.
Once you die, if you knock on the doors of heaven and they forbid you access, you should accept that it is your fault. Just remain in purgatory. Do not even dare to think that it is because that place is not big enough or because they need you working outside to keep the paradise clean and comfortable for a few people. You should never learn that “life after death” was a belief imposed during the Middle Ages to convince people of the virtues of hunger and pain, while kings and nobles enjoyed a life full of privilege and waste.
I had the privilege to learn about that in college and educate myself. Later in life, I realize that as a kid, I was not completely wrong. My leftovers are indeed the reason why other people are hungry not only in Africa, but just around the corner.
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