I think it’s safe to say that the feel-good pseudo-activism of informed purchasing has gotten entirely out of hand. I’m not casting stones; I’m guilty of patting myself on the back for picking the right bananas and brand of shampoo too. I’m just saying that it’s time we stop convincing ourselves we’re doing “our part” when we buy from companies we agree with and shun the ones we don’t, because, simply, we’re not. Doing our part, that is. We’re maybe doing a teensy, tiny, modicum of a fraction of the first percent of our part, but that’s about it, and we need to recognize and accept that fact.
We should be uncomfortable about it. We should pretty much be uncomfortable all the time. I believe that. Things aren’t good, life’s not fair, people are being taken advantage of and hurt, people are starving, people are sick. More than half the people in Guatemala live on less than $1.52 a day, but I’m sitting on my 86″ mid-century modern sofa in boxers, belly full of sushi, typing on a Macbook, listening to Spotify through headphones with micro-fleece-lined memory foam earcups. That, strictly speaking, ain’t right, and I shouldn’t feel okay about it just because the fish I ate were sustainably harvested and my delicious rye lager was brewed locally.
To be clear, I’m not saying I should be crippled and crushed by guilt either. Not all the time, at least. While I have certainly benefited from the suffering of others, been given immeasurable privilege and advantage at the direct expense of others, I did not personally orchestrate their suffering or my privilege. I didn’t choose to be born lucky, but I also can’t deny that I was, and whenever I’m reminded of it, I should feel… awkward? Icky? Anything but comfortable. When those thoughts creep into my head, those nagging thoughts about a family of six in Chad surviving on a measly $1.23 of food every week, I refuse to let myself be comforted by the fact that the people who made my stupid jeans were paid a fair wage. Am I happy they were paid a fair wage? Of course I am. But I think we’re all getting a bit carried away when we start acting like informed consumption is us doing our fair share. It’s mostly just us getting cool stuff we want, with the added perk of self-congratulation, not to mention the healthy dose of respect from other similarly privileged and “enlightened” people.
Don’t stop doing it, of course. Obviously keep doing it. I plan to! It’s an important first step. But don’t confuse it. It’s not the end result. It isn’t activism. It doesn’t absolve us, doesn’t give us the right to feel okay about the way things are. We shouldn’t feel okay about the way things are until things are actually okay, and I think we can all agree that things are not currently in any danger of being misconstrued as “okay.” Not by a long shot. The only hope we have of ever doing anything about it lies in our recognizing how terribly not okay things really are, and if we’re all too busy feeling great about buying (or not buying) a particular chicken sandwich, we’ll never move on to that ever-important next step, where we actually act out of our extreme discomfort and truly help somebody.
I’m still trying to get there myself. It’s a lot easier to act like my only obligation is to modify my shopping habits, because that’s not really much of a sacrifice, and I still get to buy all that sweet stuff I like. But when it comes right down to it, I’m supposed to be sacrificing. A lot. Hence the discomfort, because… I don’t really wanna do that. Sacrifice, I mean. I don’t want to, but I’m conflicted, because I know I ought to. It’s the right thing to do. And I want to do what I ought, if that makes sense. But until I can overcome my selfishness and learn to start giving up things, I want to at least live in full awareness of the fact that I’m not doing what I could – what I should. I’m just not, so I need to admit it to myself, and feel downright crappy and uncomfortable about it until I change it. People are dying because they don’t have clean water to drink, and no matter how informed I was when I bought a pint from that brewery with the solar panels on their roof, that still sucks. I just need to deal with it.
I love the title and great content! Thank you for sharing
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my random thoughts!
Consumerism drives our 1st world economy, but so too does it drive others. When is enough enough?I think the fine line is reached when you don’t have enough to survive, when you are prepared to fight others to get what you need to live. How close we have come to that fine line drives our generousity. Your life has not known enough or any depravation to guide you on how much you can afford to forego. It is no surprise that people on low incomes are often more relatively generous. Perhaps your introspection is wasted as you are too far removed from the African peoples’ reality.
Such thought-provoking concepts! Especially the bit about how close we’ve come to abject poverty driving our generosity. I want it to not be true, because I want to be more generous without having to be impoverished, but I suppose the most generous people (Gandhi, Mother Teresa, etc.) did willingly throw themselves directly into poverty when helping those in need. But can I ever be strong enough to do so myself? Thank you so much for sharing!
“That, strictly speaking, ain’t right”
You never tell us why it isn’t right. I agree with you up to a point, but I refuse to beat myself up because a world i didn’t try to make a crappy place is a crappy place. I feel perfectly okay about the fact that I am educated, hard working, law abiding, insistent on condoms and unencumbered by useless cultural superstitions that prevent me from having a happy life. if others aren’t any of the above and want some kind of charity or consideration for me, I have to be shown the advantage to me in that. And I refuse to feel bad or lessen my enjoyment of life for people whom I have no idea would actually benefit from me doing anything,
Madam, one must remember that many people are not thrust into unfortunate circumstances by their own choice. People are a product of their environment, and whilst a good work ethic and useful system of values might get you any number of things in the Western world, the fact remains that opportunity is less than rife in many places across the world.
My thoughts exactly!
Those are all wonderful traits and actions to take. I agree that charity is pushed too often as a cure. The best solutions as far as people go, is to teach people how to be sustainable and take care of themselves. Digging a well or building a school is okay, but it created dependence. It is SO much better if we give others the tools to build those. They then have a vested interest in continuing to improve their lives. Let’s leave charity for situations like famine, victims of violence, and natural disasters.
I definitely agree that giving people tools to improve their situations is best, but truthfully, there is so much need in the world right now that I’m not about to discriminate between types of aid! It’s all so needed, and so much more.
Great. We need more people who are willing to give so that others can have a better life.
I concur. Thanks for reading!
You’re welcome.
It’s important not to beat ourselves up, as I mentioned, since we aren’t actually the ones who made the world this way. However, since we certainly have benefited from a lot of the inequalities (while others have been harmed by them), the least we can do is acknowledge the discrepancy and seek to help people who weren’t born into situations as fortunate!
thanks for waking me up. buying socially conscious goods is not activism.
Thanks for just taking the time to read it! Means a lot.
no worries Tim. more power to your blog and congrats on being Freshly Pressed!
I like voting with my dollar too, but that is more of a capitalist activism. We still have to speak up and use our voices on all other issues. As needed, I send emails about important issues and concerns to my political representatives. It is so easy to find your political reps by area. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/
Or you can sign up for Change.org and any other petition site to make your voice heard with millions of others. We don’t have to act like democracy is some huge impossible task. It is simple enough to send an email, make a phone call, or sign a petition once in a while.
Great post.
Thanks for reading! Good suggestions for sure.
I like this. But when I think of “voting with my dollar” I think mainly of just not using it.
The only places this family shops for fun is the thrift stores.
& I think that does help. If more people weren’t so snooty about buying slightly used clothing…
I don’t know. You’ve made me think. I liked this.
But you can be certain I’m extremely thankful to be where I am and not starving or waiting in line for water!
I love shopping second hand too. I like to remind people that it’s also great for the environment since you are cutting back on the manufacturing and shipping cost of new stuff.
Totally!
I couldn’t agree more. I think that just not using so many of our dollars on ourselves is actually MORE of a step in the right direction than spending them on “sustainable” or “fair trade” or whatever. Great thoughts! Thanks for reading!
[...] I love this post about voting with my dollar. http://necessarymeans.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/are-we-voting-with-our-dollars-or-just-lying-to-ourse… [...]
Nice Article
Thanks!
Nice Article
Thank you!
I don’t even think it’s an important first step anymore, really. The only important step to take is to buy LESS shit. Lots less. It’s just a volume thing. Consume LESS. Of everything, sustainable or not.
Seriously, I think that is awesome advice. I completely agree.
It takes a huge leap of the imagination for anyone of reasonable means living in North America to empathize with a householder in another country and culture who has to provide for a family for sums per month no more than, say, $5. Never mind, in many regions of the globe families have not the luxury of educating their young because every member of the family is closely engaged in meeting the necessities of life such a water (which must be purified before it can be drunk) fuel(which must be collected daily) food (which must be gathered, grown, watered, harvested, processed for keeping for leaner times).
There are some feel-good stories locally of high-school students who fund-raise in order to make a pilgrimage of mercy to third world countries in order to help build school buildings of a rudimentary nature, or of Rotarians collecting funds for water purification systems for villages in Africa. These same folk do not extend their thinking to contemplate doing without many of the perks, bells and whistles of their North American lives- the Rotarians, their fancy fundraising dinners, the young students, the moneys they plan to spend on their pilgrimage to African countries- meanwhile the status quo is maintained and no one is particularly discomfited but have the luxury of self-congratulatory feelings for having acted laudably well.
In Western cultures it has taken centuries of international commercial trade to train our populace into current levels of consumption. Fair Trade designation has tended to become another weapon in the arsenal of trade of goods. Another marketing mantra, if you will.
On a personal note, how I attempt to live out my life and meet my needs is simply a matter of saying no to many of the choices presented to me, and to try and remain thoughtful of the possible far-ranging consequences of my daily decisions. G
It really is so true. Only because of my extensive time spent in Guatemala do I have even the mild beginnings of an understanding of the suffering that is so prevalent in most parts of the world. If I hadn’t been there, I don’t think I’d have any idea. How could I? Thanks so much for sharing.
I agree with this – but with me I agree with this with special reference to America and the people in misery in my own country. I’m tired of hearing that caring about the starving kids of Africa is charity and proper, while caring about our starving kids here is socialism. I don’t see how anyone can be comfortable with that and I don’t think they should be (and also not crushed with guilt, no good to come of that), but right now I have to worry mostly about my own country, that takes up all my energy.
Honestly, that’s totally legit. There’s so much need everywhere you turn your eyes. I don’t like to differentiate or prioritize who or what we should focus on first; rather, if you feel passionate about something, you should work on that, and somebody else will feel passionate about something else. If we all acted on those passions instead of just brushing them off, I’m sure we’re all different enough that there’d be more than enough help to spread to every area in need.
Nicely worded post, but it lacks focus on the problem and problem solving.
Well thanks for liking the wording at least! I’m sorry, I know I didn’t propose any solutions. I prefer focusing on action rather than complaining… but this is kind of complicated stuff, you know? I’m just trying to become more self-aware at this point. Hopefully some day I’ll have more constructive words to share. Thanks for reading!
The problems plaguing slow growth to nearly no growth nations are not simply the reasons for self guilt that you mentioned and are felt by many after they see a picture like the one you have posted. Global economic conditions and government fiscal responsibility outlook is the cause. Let’s take for example the current global strain on Europe and the China growth slow from about 8+% to about 6+%.
Bailout funds from the ECB,IMF and others are going mostly to Europe these days in the amount of 173B EURO (34B Euro proposed for this quarter alone). This is just for Greece ALONE. There doesn’t leave much room to allocate funds to the Word Bank and ect for investments in agriculture infrastructure in developing nations. I’m talking about cause and effect.
Heath wise; global funding for AIDS have dropped about a steady 10% per year for the past 3 years. The RED campaign for example only donates about 10-15% of what they make into the actual cause and the business eats up the rest.
So you see Mr. Tim, it’s not about what you eat are buy, it’s about holding your governments responsible for it’s own stability on the home front. If the developed countries are healthy, the world will be healthy. So don’t stop buying…buy more. And if you want to help on the ground in a developing nation, donate some time and go in person if you haven’t already.
This is an interesting idea, but I don’t think I agree. “If the developed countries are healthy, the world will be healthy.” The problem with that logic is that it’s either not true, or we’ve never had healthy developed countries. Because as I’m sure you would agree, the world has always been filled with great need and great excess; there have always been poor countries taken advantage of and abused by rich countries. So if your logic is sound, then we’ve just never had healthy developed countries in the history of the world, so why would we put our hope in somehow getting them one day? I don’t believe in the trickle-down concept, because I’ve never seen it actually work. But I really appreciate your ideas, and will continue to think long and hard on them, I can assure you.
To your last comment: There is no such thing as “all good” or “all bad” lol. You say that you have never seen “trickle-down” work lol. Nations are built on “trickle-down”. America is built on “trickle-down”. It’s the reason we have an “internet” to post on a “blog”. It’s why you have “retail” and ect. I believe you mistake it for “trickle-down more”.
It’s one thing to have “excess”, it’s another thing all together to have the stability and an ethical backed system with an in depth knowledge to invest and reinvest in the dynamics of assisting slow growth nations build their infrastructure. There is also a need for diplomatic alliances that may have been non existent before, along with additional securities in order to achieve the necessary. So, you are incorrect when you say that “based on my comment we must have never had a developed nation ever in history”. As the world grows older we have more and more mechanisms to allow a more efficient and sufficient allocation of global capital unlike any other time in history. If you do not see and understand this then I would suggest a study in (Finance, Global Finance, International Business, Government, Global Governments, Emerging Markets and Global Changing Landscape, and History).
The “being taken advantage of” part is an entirely different subject all together. Has been nice speaking with you. Take care.
This is quite a fair point. Nothing is ever all one way or another. However, as certain elements of society have progressed, others haven’t improved at all. It is clear to me that there is still a great deal of improvement needed, and simply allowing the market to fix it isn’t working. What will fix it is people taking action by giving personally: not through their taxes, but of themselves, from their own conviction. Hopefully, some day, I’ll be able to be one of those people.
came across this through freshly pressed, and glad of it. Compassionate consumerism or whatever is hardly compassionate, although the intentions are good. It’s hard to know what to do in this fucked world, but words and thoughts are always appreciated.
Oh believe me, I completely know that feeling. I’m always just seeking to make some sense of the chaos, and sometimes putting my thoughts into words is the only way for me to start the process. Thanks so much for reading!
Love this post. I’m work in humanitarian aid. This year I have been in Ethiopia and Senegal working with people living through a severe food crisis. From my limited experiences in this countries I can say these people work hard, love their children and families, work as a community to support each other and everyone I met always said how amazed and humbled they were that someone, anyone, from the other side of the world would even know about them let alone care about them.
Thank you for writing a post like this and being someone who cares. People like you inspire me to keep doing what I am doing no matter how hard or hopeless it may feel at times.
Wow. I’m very honored to have contributed in my own small way to someone doing such great work. Thank you for doing what you do, and for taking the time to share!
Reblogged this on Just Sara and commented:
It’s World Water Week and this post couldn’t summarise my thoughts in a better way. Many thanks, Tim.
No, thank you!
Reblogged this on Sofia's Blog and commented:
Sad but true. I don’t enjoy being a cynic but this man has got it right. Me and my family are supporting a child in Haiti through Plan and that makes me feel better about the general state of the world. I’m also a member of Kiva because I believe that microloans are a good way to empower people, notably women. Because of Kiva’s structure it’s possible to follow the people or groups of people that I have supported. This makes me feel like I’m actually contributing and making the world a better place by improving the lives of some less fortunate than me. However it would be extremely naive to claim this was any kind of activism. I’m not the kind of person who protests in the streets or writes letters to politicians. At least providing some people with a little support makes me feel better about myself – which is one of the goals of charity anyway – and hopefully I’ll help people along the way. The world is still rubbish though and doing “a little” really is, just, a little.
It’s the sad state of affairs, isn’t it? Nothing is ever enough. Still, I don’t want to live a life overwhelmed by guilt, because that leads to nothing good; I’m trying to find the balance between honestly acknowledging the way things really are and still being positive and optimistic and undaunted in the pursuit of making things better. So far I’m nowhere close. So here’s to tomorrow.
Reblogged this on jantje11's Blog and commented:
We live in a society that of only individualism where ones objective is derived from personal gain.
I enjoyed reading your thoughts on this. Thanks
Thanks for reading!
I agree with you – it just isn’t right that we have the choice between thousands and thousands of products (many of which we buy) and then feel good about ourselves for buying the organic or fair-trade product, whilst people are starving and are fighting to survive.
I am struggling with those thoughts a lot myself and I think the more you think about the imbalance in the world, the more depressed you get. However, I want to believe it is worth something that you care and act on it – even if it’s an a small scale like buying fair-trade cloth and coffee or choosing organic products over “inorganic” ones. I believe that if every one does even only a little bit, it can change a lot and that is in any case better than doing nothing. I hate people who argue that it doesn’t matter anyway if they try to make better choices because it’s only a drop in the ocean. That’s the lamest and easiest excuse there is, and the most groundless too. Because guess what, many drops can make a difference!
This is totally true! No good act should be discounted; it’s simply the question of whether we decide that’s enough or not. That’s my main point. So many of us just stop there, at buying the right things, and feel like we’re saints. I’m just hoping to push through that and do more. Thanks for sharing!
Reblogged this on marenbuchmueller and commented:
True that …
:c)
Hi Tim! Awesome post! Loved every word – you are so right. Coming from the more privileged part of the society should help us make more of a difference, because we can, not because it will make us look better. When I tell friends that we have taught our kids to split their pocket money into living, spending and giving, it’s not to be boastful, but to share the philosophy that if you have, you should share.
Last Christmas the kids (with a little of our help) bought clean new mattresses for an orphanage in India, and on Christmas day although thrilled about what gifts they found under the tree, they were both thinking about how excited the kids in India must have been to not have stinky beds anymore. That’s how we all should be. Excited to know that we have made a real difference. However little.
So awesome. What a gift, to have that sensibility instilled from childhood. Keep that up!
Great reminder, if a little guilt-inducing
You might be interested in http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-change/ – which doesn’t just touch on the limits of “ethical consumption” but where that concern should lead us – to creating change on a more powerful level.
Awesome! I’m going to check that out ASAP!
Reblogged this on beuniqvbh56's Blog.
its a quandary. e.g. in India we say that the government welfare project only benefits one tenth of the deserving public. This is due to several reasons one of which is Corruption. But the government cannot stop such projects because then even the one-tenth will be deprived of the benefit.
congrats on being freshly pressed
Such a dilemma. I guess that’s most of life… navigating gray areas where nothing is clear. Sheesh. Thanks for reading!
Reblogged this on Forgiveness Factor and commented:
“More than half the people in Guatemala live on less than $1.52 a day, but I’m sitting on my 86″ mid-century modern sofa in boxers, belly full of sushi, typing on a Macbook, listening to Spotify through headphones with micro-fleece-lined memory foam earcups. That, strictly speaking, ain’t right, and I shouldn’t feel okay about it just because the fish I ate were sustainably harvested and my delicious rye lager was brewed locally.”
Thanks for sharing this thought of yours. Keep it up!
Thank you so much for reading!
Very thoughtful, interesting post. I think the important thing to realize is that none of us can solve this on our own and that there will always be problems of this magnitude that were there when we were born and will be there when we die. That isn’t to say that we should give up, but we need to frame things in a way that gives us possible actions. For you, maybe working one-on-one where you live would be a good step. You’d get to meet people different from your friends, see close up what they’re up against, and help in whatever way you can, e.g., tutoring, soup kitchen, housing advocacy, etc. As others have suggested, we all need to keep aware of our political representatives, what bills are in Congress, etc., and social/political movements that are aligned with our own ideas — and, just as importantly, that we can learn from.
Thanks for contributing to this conversation and congratulations on being FP.
Framing things in such a way that I can actually be inspired is definitely great advice. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed; all you have to do is look around. Thanks so much for sharing!
I agree with you 100%! Thank you for this, it is refreshing to read a post that has accepted the truth; that activism is more than buying the right bananas!
http://bryonysspace.wordpress.com/
And the last paragraph was nothing short of a much needed kick in the teeth to our society! I applaud you!
Thank you so much for reading and for your kind words!
You’re most welcome
I attempt similar things in my blog, but your post was much more successful! I’d appreciate any tips 
Well I’m certainly FAR from an expert, but the thing that’s most helpful for me is to just read all the time, and to try to write every single day. I find that I start to emulate my favorite writers without even meaning to, but then the more I write, the more my influences start to blend together into something that sounds like my own voice. And spend as much time on http://www.mcsweeneys.net as possible! It can only help! :c)
I wish I had the time to write every day! But I work 12 hour shifts which leaves me shattered. You know what though, I shall set myself the target of writing a little something (even if it is only a few words) on my break each day! And I shall have a look at that link the next day I have off work
Thank you! And are there any writers whom you’d suggest I’d read? My blog is political/humourous mostly (you might have to read to get a better idea I’d afraid), any writers that would suit that? I’m new to this as you can tell!
I think the problem here is that you realise consumer spending power is not really making enough of a difference. The world still remains woefully full of ‘inequality’.
There is, after all, only so much we can buy each week and even if *every* purchase we make is ‘ethical’ (and expensive) we can see that the world is not really going to be that much improved.
Even if we achieved a figure of 95% ethical consumer purchasing by people in the west that might make the world, say, 3% more civilised overall.
Why is this figure so low?
The problem is that in our world today the voluntary behaviour of the masses is completely overwhelmed by the violent behaviour of a few. This violence comes in the form of violence backed laws, regulations, tariffs, wars, economic systems forced onto us as monopolies as well as large businesses being given government protection from loss, AKA ‘corporations’.
Protection from loss means protection from the consequences of your behaviour. And in the real world that usually means protection from consequences of doing *evil* in the world such as gambling other people’s money away or pushing predatory loans onto third world countries, or making nefarious bribes to their tinpot dictators in return for control of that country’s resources and people. All of this is the direct/ indirect result of force, violence, coercion being used against the public, usually to benefit and protect the few with the most money and the least morality.
This is not a rant against government. There’s nothing wrong with social organisation per se. This is a rant only against violence and coercion being used as the prime method of social organisation.
A ‘government’, as we know and love them today, is (by definition) an agency within a geographical area with the monopolistic legal right to initiate force against everyone else in order to achieve its aims. That’s all a government is in essence. The rest is trimmings. A ‘law’ is just an opinion backed by threats of violence. A law may or may not reflect morality. But even if it does a law is seldom applied *universally*, making it worse than having no law at all!
For example if (1) law was a reflection of morality and (2) if law was applicable universally then I could use laws against theft and terrorism to stop government taking half my earnings by force and then spending that money to commit genocide abroad for their political aims. But government laws seem to become non applicable when it comes to the behaviour of government itself.
Government ‘laws’ don’t really outlaw theft, violence, coercion or terrorism – they only outlaw other people (other than government) using these tactics. This actually increases the evil which government (and their rich friends) can end up doing in the world by ensuring the rest of society remains relatively virtuous by comparison. IOW it eliminates competition, when it comes to acting like bullies, fraudsters and gangsters.
No other individual or group in society is *legally* allowed to *initiate* force against others. Initiating force against someone else (punching, stealing, coercing, threatening, raping, kidnaping, murdering etc) is immoral behaviour. We all learn this as children. It’s not a hard concept to understand.
Only government is legally entitled to get away with coercion, violence murder etc. isn’t that a bit odd? Either coercion, violence murder etc is an immoral and undesirable way to behave or it isn’t. Morality is supposed to be universal, right? So shouldn’t it be applied ……universally?
Imagine a world where only cereal manufacturers were allowed to behave in this way….. or only people educated at Harvard… or only white males… or only women aged 35 – 40 … or only people who wore glasses … or only people who happened to work in a particular building….
As a result of government’s monopoly on the initiation of violence every crooked businessman the land has a massive incentive to either infiltrate government or simply bribe and lobby political people to pass new laws and regulations (backed by force/ violence) which benefit them. Instead of evil corporations paying for thugs to stop competition by blocking imports at every port (very expensive and obviously immoral) a big corporation can simply bribe/ infiltrate this violent agency called a ‘government’ and have THEM impose trade restriction (by force) ……. all payed for by the taxpayer instead.
Next to this kind of aggressive and violent behaviour, our voluntary peaceful and ethical consumer transactions are rendered essentially meaningless.
The point is that only in a truly free market can voluntary transactions (such as consumer choices) actually make any real difference to the world. A ‘free market’ just means a market which is not controlled or manipulated by coercion, force, violence etc. Contracts and agreements can still be enforced but as long as they have been entered into voluntarily that is not the same as *initiating* force against someone.
Most of the poverty, suffering and bloodshed in the world is the result of governments (1) bribing each other, (2) stealing from each other and (3) hitting each other on the head. (In other words acting like gangsters).
This wouldn’t be early so bad if they had to fund their own antisocial behaviour themselves. But unfortunately (for us) we allow them to set up vast institutions and agencies (AKA form gangs) as well as buy themselves lots of guns and other weapons to play with – all paid for using money they’ve stolen from the public by force via taxation and debt. (Government debt is really just a way for governments to tax future generations but in the present, for it is future generations who will be forced to pay back these private loans taken out by governments via taxation of their income once they grow up. Government debt is in fact a form of violent theft from the unborn).
Without this violence and coercion at the heart of society all voluntary transactions (including those we choose NOT to make) would finally start to make a huge difference in the world and steer it in the direction intended – which for most ordinary people is one based on sound morals and a desire for a peaceful, pleasant, enjoyable world. For 99% of the population a fair, just and peaceful world IS a selfish desire. There is nothing selfish about destroying a country or a society – unless you are a psychopath (which many people in the ruling elite are as it happens).
The ridiculous concept of ‘democracy’ and ‘voting’ is how violent monopolies of power convince us to legitimise their use of violence, theft and coercion to organise society. If the people we voted for really were our ‘representatives’ then logically we should be equally as responsible for their crimes and failures as them (genocide, torture, theft, war, child murder, national debt etc). But how many voters reading this comment feel *personally responsible* for the actions (the devastating consequences) of the government which THEY voted into power, the government who are supposed to represent them?
I bet no one. The deal is this: you’re allowed to wash your hands of all responsibility of your government’s behaviour….. and in doing so you must also let the political scumbags wash their hands of responsibility also. Result: no one claims responsibility for the devastating effects of a world run through the initiation of violence and coercion.
….. and that is why the wars, genocide, poverty, suffering and general evil continues….
How would it affect your voting habits if you knew you WERE going to be held responsible for the action of your government?
Perhaps you might not vote, or perhaps you might want to draw up a two way contract with your political representatives, instead of just trusting political people and their speechwriters over and over and over again, despite the fact they are always proved to be liars. Like duh! There’s no legal contract between you and they invent the law!
In a free market (ie a market NOT run through violence or coercion) every single voluntary transaction (as well as all transactions you choose NOT to make) become, in effect, a ‘vote’. And this is the only kind of voting which (a) accurately reflects the voter’s own ethics and morality (b) is not a sanctioning of violence, either against the voter or against anyone else.
In a free (ie non coercive, non violent) market we would all end up ‘voting’ hundreds of times a day and every vote would have a direct and immediate effect.
Consumer choice DOES work, but ONLY in a world not centrally organised through the use of violent coercion.
People are encouraged to rant against ‘evil’ profits. But profit is like sex. When violence and coercion are involved it becomes depraved and objectionable…… but when the transaction is done voluntarily and peacefully it becomes a positive experience and an expression and a measure of affection and love.
In a non violent market profit is how we consumers can reward businesses which we support… it’s how decent, honest, virtuous businesses can thrive.
I could not have said this better my self, way to go. by the way this is why I don’t vote or support poltical agendas at all not financially(not counting forced taking in taxes), voting, or even support it’s religions, both gaia, christendom (which they use to hide behind for the devine right of kings garbage)holidays, beliefs and in my heart I do not accept what they do or believe a word they say. I do not go to their rallys, or advocate them in anyway, in fact the only government I advocate is God’s kingdom which is not through any human agency this gov will rule from heaven over the earth really soon. it is deplorable how people are starving because of a greed of a few who use the power of the state to oppress them in anyway they can.
rose
Wow. So much to chew on there. But isn’t the idea of a truly free market, one not overrun by coercion and violence, a myth as unlikely to ever come true as wizards and unicorns and pots of gold at the end of rainbows? I can get completely on board in principle… but isn’t it just a theory with no real possibility of every coming true? So what do we do in the mean time, in the real world, with the real problems we’re facing? Surely not wait for the truly free market to finally come around to save us! Thanks so much for reading and sharing.
“….But isn’t the idea of a truly free market, one not overrun by coercion and violence, a myth as unlikely to ever come true as wizards and unicorns and pots of gold at the end of rainbows?…”
I’m sure our ancestors said the same about every social improvement being proposed in their time as well
Take African slavery in the US for example. How on earth do you go about setting free hundreds of thousands of uneducated, homeless (ie no property of their own) and often resentful African slaves into society? Surely that’s just a naive fantasy? It can’t be done!
How are they all going to get jobs? Where are they all going to live? How are they going to get educated? And if we abolish slavery how is the cotton going to get picked?!
But despite all these practical challenges… we managed somehow
(I’m not suggesting it was easy though)
Do you think anyone back then could have ever imagined how cotton farms would actually operate in the future? ….. staffed by just a few people (not dozens or hundreds of people) and using MACHINES to pick the cotton instead of men! Machines powered by black gooey stuff that we dig out of the ground! Crazy!
No one can predict how society in the future will work (email, GPS, cell phones…?). And therefore the only issue worth considering is whether something is morally acceptable or not.
Slavery, forced marriage and owning women, sending children down mines…. at a certain point in our evolution these things became morally unacceptable …….. next up on the list of things which have to go is having markets (and society in general) interfered with by a centralised agency of violence which is armed to the teeth, staffed by crooks, buffoons and psychopaths and completely unaccountable to anyone! LOL
A government (as they operate today) is a legacy from the dark ages. In the internet age there is no longer any need for centralisation of decision making. And the rest of us switched to non violent, non coercive behaviour ages ago – and society is better off for it.
Government’s legalised coercion and violence is only still here because they still control education and the mass media. This means they can start programming us full of euphemisms to disguise their immoral behaviour from the age of about four! …… taxation (theft), increased security (checking children’s crotches for bombs is actually increased in-security), law (an opinion with a gun), enhanced interrogation (torture), peace forces (invasion army), leader of the free world (an oxymoron!), national defence (only ever used to attack others), voting (slave’s suggestion box) …etc.
But now of course we have the internet so we can all help each other to (re)define the world more accurately again, exposing any evil hiding behind misleading language
“…..I can get completely on board in principle… but isn’t it just a theory with no real possibility of every coming true? So what do we do in the mean time, in the real world…..”
A non coercive, non violent free market IS the real world!
It is how most of us ALREADY interact and transact most of the time in our daily lives. Think about how 99% of the population behave and interact in their personal and business lives. The vast majority of society *already* conducts itself through non coercive, voluntary, peaceful, mutually beneficial transactions and interactions….
…the only significant exception to this rule are those areas where government is involved.
If I started taxing people by force (“pay me half your wages or I will kidnap you and lock you up in a cage!”) in order to pay for my own personal army to go and kill civilians abroad because I believed in some unfounded conspiracy theory about them having WMD’s and wanting to kill me or something, then I think my outrageous behaviour might make the evening TV news. When government behaves in this way everyone just goes along with it.
The world is not really very violent at all. It’s just got some very violent people in positions of power. That power is derived entirely from the confused state of the masses (all of whom passed through government education and most of whom watch several hours of mass media every day).
Most of us already understand that non coercive, non violent ways of behaving are more preferable, especially in the long term. It creates a better life for the individual and for ‘society’ as a whole. Taking a gun to a job interview will get you hired on the spot, but it won’t improve your long term career prospects! Taking a big stick to your local deli will get you a free sandwich, but this strategy is not going to work well for you in the long term – in fact it will soon working against you. Therefore voluntary (mutually beneficial) transactions and behaviour is the most ‘selfish’ way to behave. The idea that coercion and violence is the most selfish way to behave is a myth. This myth is spread by our violent rulers to justify their rule over us (as if protecting us from ourselves).
Violence and coercion = selfish behaviour is only true for ‘damaged’ people such as psychopaths, sociopaths, certain victims of childhood abuse and so on… and the heavily indoctrinated.
Of course government education is a form of child abuse and indoctrination which does encourage us all to celebrate violence, hierarchy and authority as good things. It was designed to achieve exactly that. It’s something else on the list of things which have to go
People who work hard providing things which society actually wants generally do better than people who go around threatening others with violence to ‘earn a living’. Being an asshole (as an individual or a company) carries with it huge risks and costs. Social or economic ostracism is a huge motivator on its own. Act like an asshole and no one will want to be your friend or buy from your company. If you own a large supermarket chain and 20% of your customers suddenly stop buying from you for ethical reasons, your company is going lose a lot of money very quickly.
What government does, in effect, is to lower the risk and the cost of being an asshole to anyone who has enough money and clout to bribe them and lobby them. The classic example is corporations who bribe government and can then go around destroying society and the environment with zero accountability and when they mess up and gamble everyone’s money away they are given lots of taxpayer’s money!
In the real world (the world the rest of us live in) these evil corporations (such as the banks) would just collapse. People would go after them for the money they lost. Everyone would learn a valuable lesson and start investing only in banks which could prove they were not going to act like reckless, unscrupulous, maniacs. The LESS regulation (the less coercion/ violence) there is the more sensible and ethical these industries have to become.
Remove the weapon of government coercion and violence and you still have a world with assholes in it. But now they have to be directly responsible for the consequences of their own assholery. Without (a coercive, violent) government the Bush’s and Blair’s of this world might still form a disreputable company or really annoy their neighbours or start a mafia – but they won’t be able to afford an entire army, or a mass media, or a police force of their own. They won’t be able to murder a million souls and get away with it.
A free voluntary, non coercive society is not a new or ‘radical’ concept at all. All it requires is for people to start extending the basic morality and common sense which they already live by to government. That’s all!
We would never tolerate a cell phone company taking over and monopolising the industry by force, and then extracting money from us by force and supplying us all with a crappy, standardised ‘free phone care’ service in return. Then getting massively into debt and starting wars with rival phone companies overseas. Then forcing us (and our children) to pay back their debts, while simultaneously cutting back on our phone services. Then spending more of our money on armed thugs to taser and pepper spray any customers who complained. Then collapsing altogether and bringing in martial law. I mean come on, this is getting ridiculous!
We all understand that allowing phone companies to use violence and coercion would be a recipe for disaster. If someone suggested that this would result in a better cell phone industry with more choice and lower costs for consumers we would call them a deluded and naive crazy person!
In the same way, the idea of placing an agency at the heart of society to run everything through coercion and violence – thinking this is a good way for society to organise itself…. this is also a deluded and naive fantasy supported by crazy people (who were made crazy in government run indoctrination centres called ‘schools’).
We all fiercely defend and cherish the freedoms and choices we already enjoy. But we have all been brought up to be terrified of the freedoms and choices we don’t yet enjoy.
Plus for generations we have been traumatised by endless government sponsored wars, economic collapses and other unpleasantness. This keeps us meek, fearful of change and afraid of each other
Interesting read. I’ve been through the same thought patterns, too. But what you must come to realize is that you can’t feel guilty for what you have, and I sense a touch of that is your writing. I gather than you earned the money to purchase what you enjoy.
The world is not a ‘fair’ place. There are those who need and there are those who have excesses beyond belief. There are those who are fit, and those who hurt every moment of ever day. It’s not a ‘fair’ place. It never has been and never will be.
But what all of us can do is live our lives with great civility and a concern for others. Help those you can help Be kind and good to your brothers and sisters. Make a positive difference in someone’s life every day….even if it’s a tiny difference.
Don’t beat yourself up over what you have. Use what you have — and your obvious God-given sensibilities — to do good.
Yes. This is good, true advice. In my better moments, I think so clearly. Would that it could always be that way! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing. You write very deeply
I appreciate that so much. Thanks for reading!
nice post
Thank you kindly :c)
The world is full of inequality. It’s too bad, but that’s how things are. I’m a pretty severe realist, so I don’t think the current model will ever change. We humans love to subjugate and abuse each other.
If you really want to make a difference, I’d say try taking some action in the political sphere. Many of the first world countries have maintained a policy of “economic colonialism” for the past 50-70 years by “helping” poorer countries in ways that only benefit the top 0.1% of those countries’ people. These same states are put into debt bondage and have measures of austerity forced upon them – measures that hurt the poor and erode whatever middle class might exist. Many (though not all) Americans are just now taking notice of this sort of thing, because it’s finally happening to us. It’s not the cause of all inequality, but it definitely contributes its share.
Buying from the right companies can contribute to better working and living conditions in other countries, but until there’s some serious honesty and actual change in our states’ policies nothing practical will happen. And this election season, nobody seems to be asking those hard questions. Or, more likely, they’re not even aware of the problem. Oh well. The world is going to hell anyway, and the irresponsible side of me says to enjoy myself because nothing is going to change.
Sorry, I don’t want to put down charity – it’s a great thing and everyone should do their part to help others. Even if you don’t have any money to give, you can give some of your time to a charity effort. And, of course, you don’t have to go to Guatemala or Somalia to find those opportunities. There are plenty of people in our own countries who are in dire straits. Personal charity can make a big difference, but it won’t change the structure of inequality, which is what you seem to be talking about.
I agree that these tales are as old as time, and that if change is to happen it must come from our own country first. The average citizen has problems dealing with our own injustices before looking outside of our system to scrutinize over the injustices of others thousands of miles away.
Whoa. I’m right there with you (until that last sentence). It’s like you’re in my brain!
It’s tough sometimes. Well written.
Isn’t it? It really is. Thank you so much for reading.
I lived in Africa all my life; now I live in Canada. I appreciated your thoughts and your honesty – thank you for opening this can of worms! A small thought – I think what could help with the fear of sacrifice is to go visit a Third World country as a volunteer with some humanitarian organization, or something like that. It might blow your mind, inspire you, set you free; and you might have real, amazing, wonderful people you have actually met to sacrifice for, rather than feeling guilty about all the suffering out there. I wish you joy!
Thank you so much for reading, and for sharing! Believe it or not, I grew up in El Paso, and used to visit very poor little towns in Mexico a lot as a child. I think that’s what planted the seeds that have now begun to sprout. Last year I spent three months in Guatemala, my third visit there, and I’ve not been the same since. I’m still trying to find that next phase of my life where all of these ideas coagulate into a new way of living, but… it’s a process!
Great article! I mostly agree with you and very much respect the fact that you actually care and are trying to do something to help alleviate suffering and exploitation. I guess the part where I disagree a bit is when it comes to charities and “responsible” consumption. I’m in favor of a general consumer boycott of sorts; basically we should try to tighten our belts a bit and spend less on luxuries or imported goods of all kinds. I also figure that any kind of charity or “consumer activism” sponsored or encouraged by corporations are a scam and should be avoided. They are merely prolonging the suffering and keeping the system going.
It is worthwhile, I think, to quote at length a piece from Oscar Wilde’s “The Soul of Man under Socialism”:
“The emotions of man are stirred more quickly than man’s intelligence; and, as I pointed out some time ago in an article on the function of criticism, it is much more easy to have sympathy with suffering than it is to have sympathy with thought. Accordingly, with admirable, though misdirected intentions, they very seriously and very sentimentally set themselves to the task of remedying the evils that they see. But their remedies do not cure the disease: they merely prolong it. Indeed, their remedies are part of the disease.
They try to solve the problem of poverty, for instance, by keeping the poor alive; or, in the case of a very advanced school, by amusing the poor. But this is not a solution: it is an aggravation of the difficulty. The proper aim is to try and reconstruct society on such a basis that poverty will be impossible. And the altruistic virtues have really prevented the carrying out of this aim. Just as the worst slave-owners were those who were kind to their slaves, and so prevented the horror of the system being realised by those who suffered from it, and understood by those who contemplated it, so, in the present state of things in England, the people who do most harm are the people who try to do most good; and at last we have had the spectacle of men who have really studied the problem and know the life – educated men who live in the East End – coming forward and imploring the community to restrain its altruistic impulses of charity, benevolence, and the like. They do so on the ground that such charity degrades and demoralises. They are perfectly right. Charity creates a multitude of sins.”
The entire essay can be found on my blog: http://prolecenter.wordpress.com/2011/12/18/the-soul-of-man-under-socialism-1891-part-1/
Wow. That’s just… geez. Amazing. I bookmarked the essay on your blog so I can read it all the way. Thank you so much for sharing that!
I’ve always felt most companies in the “good” business — whether they give a dollar on every purchase to some charity, or are termed “sustainable,” etc., are doing it as a marketing tool to increase business. There is no need for you to publically flog yourself because your needs are met above and beyond. To assuage this white (I’m assuming), western guilt, I would pick a cause that bothers you the most and attack it in dollars (giving) and sense (motivating political action). Dollars alone cannot solve a myriad of problems, especially since you’re often dealing with corrupt political structures and institutions. Perfect example, Haiti. It’s in the news after the earthquake, billions of dollars are donated, and then we hear, with this most recent hurricane, that people are still living in tent cities years later. Posting your “guilt” is cathartic, but mobilizing yourself for a cause will make you feel a whole lot better. I’ll take your place on the couch, but instead of sushi, make it a large bowl of pasta and some red wine — lots of it.
the poor are the perfect way to pull at people’s heart strings so they will open wide their wallets. to sad about haiti. as long as they have poor people to show you they will keep bringing in the doe, so they have a incentive to not help them to become self sufficient. otherwise the easy money would dry up.
rose
Thank you, Vincent! Oddly, I didn’t begin writing this blog with the intention of publicly flogging myself… I thought I was going to be criticizing people for the way they handled that whole Chick-fil-a nonsense! But that’s the interesting thing about writing, isn’t it… once I got going, I wound up looking at myself more and more. I suppose that is why I do it, after all. Thanks for reading it!
Reblogged this on Proletarian Center for Research, Education and Culture.
You but express the feelings of the many /in that you are aware to
express as feel such inner conflicts but in truth much to your credit
it but express the development of brain as heart upon lifes journey.
Firstly as a individual whom brought up in a western society where
news of the rest of the world much filtered as conduct of ones own
govt much filtered / thus ones true knowledge of events be limited
thus don’t go overboard in one’s self punishment / forced self guilt.
What is changing matters is the freedom of the internet where one
is abled in the gain of varied opinions as understanding / thus add
to ones knowledge of development unto humanity it’s ultimate goal
power of internet such people via understanding come to their own
decision dealing with situations on the wider international stage, as
their own domestic situation thus a greater influence upon the govt.
One cant get into the history of humanity / it has been a process of
millions of years / a book of many chapters / indeed many volumes.
Thus to take present situation / humanity at a crossroads in leaving
the material understanding / as venturing unto the greater spiritual
understanding it many are afraid of going unto the unknown / thus
cling to material power the material realm thus presently a world of
great injustice / where power as wealth are the leading contenders.
The worlds greatest military power & democracy USA sadly rather
than embracing change having ventured in the opposite direction
and though military power sought to gain world domination though
that of conflict in such process abandoned international law as but
abandoned domestic law where now having become a dictatorship
rather than a beacon of light to guide it has become the dragon in
its obedient service to the beast in having brought death suffering.
Thus it’s for all nations as the USA in coming their senses / to be
aware of the situation / that the present course being adjusted to
bring a halt to violence & aggression as means solving problems.
With “Climate Change” such brings a ever more serious situation
excess water / lack of water / excess heat / lack of heat / bringing
problems for humanity of basic shelter basic water as food needs.
It would do no harm for western nations in cutting their food intake
where for others in the world their be a need for basic food needs.
It being nations need work together for the good of all / in fighting
amongst each other solves nought but ongoing death destruction
till there being but a few left / whom then will but turn on the other.
The solution’s that of the greater in human spiritual development
such being done via meditation in one turning the senses inward
in an unfolding of the spiritual self / such spiritual experience that
gifts one the clarity of understanding / in answering the questions
that one having longed knowing /as unto the creation of universe
creation of life / it’s ultimate purpose / of humanities ultimate goal.
On PC search put (words of peace) or (words of peace global) on
site a selection of videos where Prem Rawat talks / explaining that
of meditation / of ones turning the senses inward in a unfolding of
the spiritual self. Not of ideas not of beliefs not a heaven or being
a paradise beyond the clouds /but that of a very practical spiritual
experience / beyond ideas / beliefs / believing / unto one knowing.
Wow, thank you for this advice! I do actually try to have a meditative practice; I have for many years. Unfortunately, as is the case in so many areas of my life, I lack the discipline to do it as often as I should. I definitely agree that it is powerful, and I hope I’ll continue to grow in that practice. Thank you so much for reading and for sharing!
So sell all that you have and donate it to charity. Or the DNC, whatever. Join the Peace Corps and do good works till you drop. Spare the world your sushi-fuelled breast beatings.
Hahaha! Thanks for that. Can’t win ‘em all…
Thank you for writing this. I agree with what you say and am in the process of figuring out how I can help to tackle some of these problems in more “substantial” or “constructive” ways. You’re right, it involves a lot more giving and sacrifice. Even when doing something “more substantial”, the magnitude of the problem(s) can make us feel like we are doing “nothing” and that “uncomfortable feeling” remains. However, when I can I try to remember a quote I once heard – a quote that goes something like this: “Just because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the small thing that I can do” – hey, I know i’ve got the words all wrong but you know what I mean!!!
What I have learnt is that the uncomfortable feeling is good in that it promotes greater empathy, encourages us to see from other perspectives and can even kick us into action! However, too much of “feeling uncomfortable” without any action to follow seems like a waste…. Something else I heard recently comes to mind: “Part of making the world better is to be better myself”. This is true on many levels: I need to be “better” myself and feeling “uncomfortable” without doing anything won’t allow me to be “better” in terms of health and well-being and also in terms of being a better person.
I hope this post inspires people to take “more substantial” action.
Your comment inspires me to do just that. Great words. Thank you!
Reblogged this on watchingeverysunset.
beautiful writing.
You’re too kind!
It’s a complex issue but I believe that more action needs to be taken against the companies that pay such poor wages in third world countries that produce products for consumer-driven first world countries.
Even working in NZ, UK and Canada, I am paid minimum (or just over) wage, despite my skills, experience, or level of responsibility, in every hospitality job I’ve ever had. I can get by on that, but only because I choose to only buy things that I actually NEED as opposed to everything that I WANT.
I think companies/corporations need to be taught to care about people, instead of money/profits. Also, people need to buy less, and learn that happiness comes from within, not from owning all the latest gadgets/coolest fashion.
So much truth in those words! The trouble with large corporations is that they aren’t tied to any one place, so they don’t have to care about taking care of people, because if they screw all the people in one place, leaving them no workers or customers, they just pack up and go to the next place! Like the aliens in Independence Day or something. Just one of the multitude of issues that need our attention. Whatever problem you’re passionate about fixing, I truly believe you should go after, because the world so desperately needs it. Thanks for reading!
Someone commented that the author of this blog ought to sell all his possessions, give the money to charity and then spend the rest of his life living ascetically and working for the Peace Corp. I explained above, briefly, that I believe charitable giving is really counterproductive. As for the Peace Corp., that is just a cleverly disguised front organization for the empire. That’s a whole other story.
I thought to address this issue in my last post. There are some very cynical, nasty people out there who don’t really care about anyone but themselves. They are narcissistic, selfish, and even sociopathic in some cases. At the very least they are deeply conservative and thus fearful and suspicious of questioning the status quo. They tolerate no criticism of their chosen fetish object, be it a country, party, ethnic group, whatever. For these folks everything is black and white and an all-or-nothing proposition. Basically, what I’m saying is, don’t pay them any attention. They are only too happy to see you give up, fail, or be destroyed.
It is my belief that we need to take steps to dismantle the current system/paradigm completely while simultaneously building a new and better one. For this belief I was actually labelled a hypocrite because, according to this one person, if I really had the courage of my convictions I would be out protesting EVERY DAY and I might even be expected to engage in armed struggle against the state; anything less than this made me out to be a fool, a whiner, and a hypocrite. Again, the moral of the story is, to hell with these people. They would love to see you self-destruct because you threaten them and their safe little bubble. My advice is to educate yourself, consider the type of risks you are willing to accept, and then begin to take direct action individually and collectively that will accomplish two objectives: 1) Disrupt the smooth functioning of the corporate state/american empire; and 2) Win the hearts and minds of others to join the cause of freedom and justice.
Speak out! Resist!
To take advantage of a dire situation for the many as a cover
to spin out a piece of political nonsense /was but showing the
true worth of fraudster Barack as gang of democrat cutthroats
of which you play a part / in your own description / sociopathic.
Barack Obama is the furthest thing from a Socialist. He is a lapdog for capitalism and american empire. I think the terminology Malcolm X would use is “Uncle Tom.”
All too true…
I started and built a semiconductor company that grew into 3500 employees in the U.S., Europe and Asia. For over a decade, I flew over 200K miles per year, and typically worked 80 hour weeks. During some of my prized “off-time,” I often tried to do what I could beyond providing jobs for those who didn’t have them. Among other thinks, I provided English classes to residents of areas in which we were hiring so that more of them could qualify, or qualify with another firm.
The most gratifying, yet horrible, was working food lines in India and a few other countries. Unless and until you’ve been on the ground and have seen and smelled thousands of people, many sick and dying, lined up hoping to get a day’s allotment of gruel, knowing that most won’t, and watching them and/or their children dying in line, you won’t know the true meaning of despair. The stench of death and disease permeates everything. But you do what you can, admire those who do it for a living, and try to not let it destroy your will to live.s
On a daily basis, most people consider the poor of the world the same way they think about soldiers in battle….they don’t.
wow, amazing that is so sad. glad to have eyewitness testimony from the front lines. as long as the wicked bear rule the people will sigh, that is found in proverbs partial quote, no matter how sincere our efforts ti will never work simply because the problem is too big for humans to deal with, only God’s kingdom will solve mankinds problems if man could do it on his own then why did jesus teach his disciples to praY “let your kingdom come”? where does it come from? heaven, where is the desitination? earth. you can put a band aid on it but the problem remains, those poor people will continue to suffer as long as satan rules the world.
Religion is slavery. I’ve heard it said that Satan goes by many names – one of them must be Uncle Sam.
that is funny, satan rules the world and that includes government, and if gov is uncle sam (I always said to myself some uncle, he robs his neices and nephews of their inheritances) then gov is part of satans seed. I agree that false religion is slavery but not the true relgion, jesus said the truth sets you free he meant spiritually free then eventually physically from sin and death. fear of death is removed, fear of wicked spirits bothering you is removed, freedom from fear of hellfire, freedom from hopelessness of life because of knowing why wickedness and death is not done away yet. imagine your whole life spent fearing a tree, or the sun, or the moon, or vampires or were wolves and such simply because false religon teaches spirits in haibt a tree, causes people to change into monsters or that the sun and moon must be appeased or they will not send forth light which means life. you know many primitive and uneducated people still believe these things which we call supersitition. these things are a burden on mankind. calling on the gods for rain, or sacrificing babies ot baal to make sure crops will grow. what misery satan perpetuates through false religion.
rose
The bourgeoisie are at the very heart of what is wrong with the world. Humanity has zero chance of surviving if your sick class is not overthrown and destroyed as soon as possible. Socialists such as Albert Einstein predicted as much.
You wouldn’t have a computer to complain on if not for people like us. Albert Einstein was a good physicist, but ignorant of economics. Capitalism has raised more people out of poverty than any other system in history.
Wow… thank you for sharing that. Powerful words.
well said. thank you for the thoughtful post. the truth is hard to face sometimes. i’m glad i found your blog today.
Thank you so much for that! I’m really glad you found it too ;c)
Just got back from Borneo and if I had ever believed in the idea (I never did) of buying ourselves out of the deep mire of environmental destruction would work – “Let’s buy products that do not contain any palm oil and we can save the rainforests (or the orangutans, whatever) – I would now bitterly laugh at my naivité. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this subject.
Sad, but true. I wish fixing things could be that easy! Thanks so much for reading.
Reblogged this on chryzalynmaeysao and commented:
but anyway, let us make things happen! go! 
))
truly, we should be guilty but we should also consider our efforts and struggle while living
Indeed! Thanks for reading!
“Voting with our wallets”? “One dollar, one vote”?
What happened to “one person, one vote”? What happened to the (pseudo) democratic process? Voting with our dollars represents the disempowering of citizens within the political process, and reducing our power to purchasing power.
We are not consumers, we are people. We are citizens. We have power as citizens within a political system.
Thanks so much for sharing! I really want to agree with you, but it’s getting harder and harder to put any faith in our political system, because it seems both parties are only interested in serving themselves and the big corporate donors who got them elected. Voting one way or another hardly seems to make any difference any more! Until we have severe term limits and complete campaign finance overhaul, our elected officials will continue to be little more than actors and showmen.
I think the most important thing is to try to buy such goods directly (when visiting) or least amount of 3rd party-middleman intervention/retailer/distributor. Ten Thousand Villages, which is a Mennonite based organization, truly makes a serious effort to pass on the earnings to the local manufacturers. (I’m partial, because I know the Mennonite community of which I grew up in southern Ontario.)
The use of children in the mining industry in some areas of world is deeply disturbing and dangerous to their health. So in terms of jewellery, to think of alternative jewellery. I must admit I don’t wear rings nor necklaces. Just have become absent-minded.
Wow. That’s great advice. Buying less, and buying local, is definitely good for the world.
Very well said. Thank you.
Cheers, and thanks for reading!
I am right there with you… my solution has been to not only be an informed consumer, but to also focus on consuming less, trying to live more simply, and giving generously. It is a constant struggle. Thank you for this post. I look forward to following your blog!
Seriously… your comment pretty much summed up my goals for myself exactly. It’s like you’re thinking my same thoughts. I reckon I’m gonna have to follow right back!
Thanks.. and congratulations on your freshly pressed success! I was shocked to find myself on that same podium last week… it was an amazing time. Enjoy.
Man, you prove many things on this article. Quietly amazing, but it expand my knowledge.
Thank you so much for that! I really appreciate it!
Well done.
I think that, even though it’s a shame that self-governed corporations operate with relative impunity while the blame for the consequences of their ways of doing business are individualized on the conusmer (us), it is, as you wrote, a reality that we must face.
It’s uncomfortable, but a little conscientiousness can go a long way if employed by more consumers because, with all of the technology that these corporations use to track buying habits real-time, a purchase really can be a vote.
Anyway, I’m glad this got FP’d because it is a great source of important discussion–just look at all the thoughtful comments!
I totally agree that purchasing responsibly is an important step. I just hope we don’t get too comfortable and stop there, you know? Thanks for joining in the conversation; that’s been my favorite part of this whole Freshly Pressed experience!
Agreed. You’re welcome–keep it up.
Thank you for writing this. I struggle with these things STILL and I’m “sacrificing” a lot right now by living in a third-world country where I’m far less comfortable than I have ever been. Still, I have so much more than most of the people around me. The problem is … there’s always something more that can be done. Every day I try to wrap my head around it but I can’t. How DO we really make a difference in this world? I don’t know, but I’m trying.
I think trying really is the key. It’s when we stop trying that we’re in trouble. Thank you for sharing!
Good one!
Thanks Jackie!