Compare And Contrast Cambodia And The United States

“The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world” (Dr. Paul Farmer). When one thinks about the country of Cambodia compared to the United States, they might say, “Oh there is little comparison”, “Cambodia is poor”, “America is so rich compared to them”. Well, sadly these statements are true and the world shouldn’t be like this. Cambodia and the United States of America should not be so different. The earth would be a happier place if equality was the main goal, and yet only a small handful of individuals seems to care. The forthcoming comparison of the third world country of Cambodia and the United States shows many more differences than similarities.

The first of the many differences of each country

If one was to describe the perfect woman in the United States, she would consist of these characteristics. She would be tall and thin with a toned body. Not only would she have big breasts, but a firm lifted butt. Lastly she would have long flowing hair, blue eyes and skin as golden as the sun. These ideals try to be achieved by women every day. Women spend thousands of their hard earned money to get implants surgically placed inside of them. Many of those surgeries end up with horrifying complications. Women roast their skin in the sun and tanning beds which skyrockets their chances of skin cancer. Whereas Cambodian women struggle to get the palest skin they can. A common event is for a woman to purchase a product to chemically whiten her skin. These products can severely harm the body. Whitening products can cause skin discoloration, malfunctions of the nervous system and internal organs, and an increased risk of cancer. Another interesting beauty regimen in Cambodia is to achieve long, elegant fingers that curve back. At a young age, children will physically stretch and bend their fingers, along with growing out their nails to prove that they are rich. Why is it that women have to increase their chances of a chronic disease just to please

Unlike the United States, many of the health risks in Cambodia come from nature and the environment. For example, three diseases can be caused by mosquitos. The first disease would be Malaria. Malaria is caused by a parasite wherein one bite can have an effect on the body. Malaria causes fever, vomiting, sweats, and depletes the oxygen in the blood stream. A disease more common than Malaria is Dengue Fever. When one is bitten by a mosquito that has Dengue, Dengue causes excruciating muscle joint pain and fever. Dengue has five different strains, but a person can only get each strain once. The last disease being Japanese Encephalitis is very similar to Dengue in that it causes a fever, but in the long run can cause long term paralysis. The other disease that is very common in Cambodia is Rabies. In an area with little shelter from the outside world, at times people are easily bitten by a rabies infected animal. That bite can be fatal without a vaccination. The United States also has mosquitos and rodents, but the environment and the conditions of living prevents those diseases from being an epidemic. As for the United States, the top causes for death are reasons that all could have been prevented by the person. The first is Coronary Artery Disease, better known as Heart Disease, is caused by high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking. With a better diet and a