It is hard to imagine in the Ireland of today that between 1845 and 1849 one million people died of starvation.
This came to mind today as I was peeling the spuds. A few of them looked perfect but when I took of the skin there were brownish blemishes that ran deep within.
Imagine living on not much more than a plate of potatoes and some oatmeal each day and finding that not just one spud but your crop was rotten That was the death sentence of the Irish peasant.
The tragedy was that they were growing grain without problem but had to use this to pay their rent. A quarter of the population died.
This tragedy was the moment from which it became clear there would be no turning back in the Irish fight for independence.
Similar incidents played out in India with the march for salt to the sea and in the holocaust.
Unimaginable horror.
Today Krishna and I were in downtown Columbus in the heart of the most obvious areas where the opioid crisis has struck. We are not naive enough to believe that it only happens in the slums though. In our city, our state and in this country this is the famine of today.
What will be the tipping point and what can we do to make sure this ends? It is certainly a disease that runs deep. Things may look fine on the surface but we need to peel back to find the cause.
I don’t know what to do today to help stop this crisis but I’ve decided to find out.
Blessing # 246 – Deciding to Do
Have you read Dreamland?
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No I haven’t read it all just extracts but many people have recommended it I’ll go buy it today. Let’s talk
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