It's all our duty to try

Who has a duty to uphold an impossible task? No one. Sadly the majority of people who live in poverty have some form of illness. Lets look at Africa in a very stereotypical lite for example, alot of people there have aids and live in poverty. The only way to get rid of aids is either through death or through some new form of modern medicin that isnt available yet. Sadly untill it is what really should be happenening is they should be dying to prevent further deaths. The death of one person (the first person with aids) would have been one of the most benificial deaths ever. Unfortunatly, we have some desire to save every life even when it makes everyone ealse have a shorter life.

My heart is with you, my friend! However a "right" is something that a community or society says that you may exercise unhindered. It does not mean that society will facilitate you. Also, I'm not sure that any society has granted any individual the unconditional right to life. In our society, only legal persons (not a fetus, for instance) have that conditional right. The right can be taken away by relatives who choose to terminate you if your brain is not active (depending upon state law) or by the government if you are sentenced to die.

Everyone has a right to try, but if they fall short and starve, it's no other person's legal responsibility to keep them alive, if they want to, they can, but other than that, it's their decision how much they choose to help their fellow man. It's the right thing to do to help people, but if no one wants to (Oh what a cruel world that would be.) they have no obligation.

The whole world community does, at least those member states who belong to the United Nations, which at last count, means just about everybody. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads, in part : from the Preamble - Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms; from Article 1 - All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. (note that it is not a particular geo-political state or society that is granting those rights, but the world community) from Article 25 (1)- Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control. http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html -- I see by the points rating for this answer (-5), that not everyone sees things as I do. What a sad commentary on our gratitude for our blessings, coming so close after Thanksgiving, that we feel so little for our fellow travellers on this earth that we dismiss their right to life while we stuff ourselves with more food than we need and then go out to the mall and spend money on things that neither we nor our family and friends really need. All in the 'Holiday' spirit, I guess.

My own personal opion relies w/ Coheed, and we may not be able 2 do much but we should always strive for finding a way to save other lives.

It has to be governments. (Romans 13:1-2) Let every soul be in subjection to the superior authorities, for there is no authority except by God; the existing authorities stand placed in their relative positions by God. 2 Therefore he who opposes the authority has taken a stand against the arrangement of God; those who have taken a stand against it will receive judgment to themselves. The 'existing authorities' are the world's governments. If they are looking after the population of their country, then God will bless them. note the countries that have a social security system in place for the poor and the sick. These countries generally have peace.

Every human being on Earth. Created in the image of the one God and equally endowed with rational souls, all men have the same nature and the same origin. Redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ, all are called to participate in the same divine beatitude: all therefore enjoy an equal dignity. If we truly love our neighbor as well as we love ourselves, how can we allow him and his family to live in poverty? For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, sections 1928 and following: http://www.nccbuscc.org/catechism/text/pt3sect1chpt2art3.htm With love in Christ.

If something is too high and out of reach for us, we should not meddle with those things.. Psalm 131:1 "LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me." I might as well be questioning why I can't live like the 'rich and famous' and why only they are 'rich and famous'... It is just way too out of my reach and scope to be a billionaire living those sorts of lifestyles...