“In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.” -Confucius
It is an indictment of the sheer lack of regard for our most precious gifts, children.
Even in recent times, with continuous reform and new policies and rules, how many actually apply to improving the inadequate living conditions of the indigent and at-risk children?
The ridiculous pun on the mindset of society makes the reader look into their own hearts and minds. How many ways can we cook a child? Why not make them an invaluable source of sustenance? They're not good for much else...
We take for granted that children will survive anything. Perhaps their youth makes them resilient and their young minds will be more likely to forget or forgive the general neglect of society, parents, and/or the politicians. We blind ourselves to such ugliness. This proposal, written in 1729, is frighteningly applicable even after more than two centuries later. How can we as a society say that we learn from our past if we have similar problems today?
A Modest Proposal is a blunt satire on the absolute shame of every citizen. As individuals lose their humanity and sense of decency, if they forget what separates the human race from every other life form; then they may as well be reduced to nothing more than savage beasts who eat their own young. The single most valuable attribute contained within the human psyche is compassion.
We must not allow ourselves to become so jaded. Evil will always exist. Bad things will happen to good people, but so do the good. It wouldn't hurt to look inside ourselves and find that little bit of something; call it what you will, idealist, propagandist, dreamer, or optimist. Allowing ourselves to become completely desensitized will mount to an epic failure in procuring a better future for all of our children.
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