By Sarah Cohen

We began our second day in Boston with a meeting about the economic impact of poverty in America. The organization, United for a Fair Economy, is a non-profit organization that raises awareness of economic issues affecting poverty today. Our speaker informed us of the unequal distribution of wealth in America. The wealthiest 10% of Americans shockingly control 70% of the money in America. He used 10 chairs to represent the wealth in America and 10 people to represent the population of America. He showed us that today one person occupies 7 chairs, 2 people share the 8th chair and everyone else would be fitting on the last two chairs. We learned that 50 years ago, the middle and working class’s overall wealth was prospering while the top 20% hardly grew. That statistic has changed so dramatically in recent years. The middle class has barely moved while the top 20% has skyrocketed. The sudden change in monetary distribution caused a significant increase in the number of people living under the poverty line. The meeting was a definite success!

seeing a live example of how much wealth the top 10% of America owns and how much the rest of us have by use of chairs instead of cash

After the meeting, we went to Harvard Square for lunch and free time. I met my family there and took a few other Etgarians to a restaurant called Legal Seafood. It was really nice to see my family.

We then drove to the Kennedy Presidential Library, a place I have not been to before. I am personally fascinated by JFK, and especially the Cuban Missile Crisis, which made the library even more captivating for me. At the library we watched two short films about his life before the Presidency, and the other about the 13 days of conflict concerning the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Library gave me a deeper understanding of Kennedy’s politics, his presidency and his life.

The group then went to Walden Pond, the part time home of Henry David Thoreau. Walden Pond is a beautiful, serene setting away from city stress and noise. Many people, including Thoreau, used this place to escape and reflect on themselves. We also decided to do just that. Billy found a spot where we sat in a circle and read Thoreau’s famous quotes. The messages embedded in these sayings were so powerful. They focused on individuality and the power to impact others by first changing yourself for the better; that other’s righteousness will follow once one discovers it for himself and takes action, as we have seen with each influential figure in history. For example, if Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had not acted on his morals, others would not have agreed and followed him, and the Civil Rights movement would have been very different. Thoreau’s morals and teachings influenced great leaders such as Ghandi, MLK, and also succeeded in inspiring the members of Etgar 36.

reading Thoreau quotes at Walden Pond