Pay it forward: End poverty
The theme of Blog Action Day 2008 is the fight against poverty. What an appropriate theme given today's economy. The perceived distinction between "them" and "us" is a blur—it always has been. "Us" are scared that we will become "them."
Poverty comes in many forms—lack of food and lack of hope.
About a year ago, a friend introduced me to the Pay It Forward movement, popularized through the movie. Demonstrate an act of kindness by paying it forward. Give yourself to others with no expectation that you'll receive anything in return.
Of late, the movement has been bastardized in that pay it forward has come to mean doing a good deed for someone with the expectation that he will help you in kind; or he will know someone who will help you. Pay it forward is not about building a people network based on reciprocity. Rather, it is based on your ability to give to others. Doing so will end poverty for one person and then another.