Our way of life is not sustainable.
There is a small minority using the vast majority of the world's resources. To bring impoverished people up to our standards will only serve to destroy us. The world cannot sustain that kind of load. We need to strike a balance by making some drastic changes to our lifestyle while helping improve the lives of others. For those of you who say, that is not my problem, that has nothing to do with me, I ask you, where did you buy your new shirt or anything for that matter? The follow up question is where did that shirt come from and does the person who made it bring enough money home to feed and house their family? If you have not done the research, for all you know, you have supported a manufacturer who paid their employees pennies for something they sold for much more. I look around my home and I realize that I have done this very thing I now know to be wrong. I am part of the problem. And so are many of you reading this.
The way to turn this ship around before we run aground is to educate people. For starters I am going to take it upon my self to learn more about ethical consumerism. This of course is only part of the solution. I have come to the realization that the solution does not just lie in making poverty history, it lies in making wealth history. I am an idealist and I realize that people are not just going to give up their wealth or their affluent lifestyle in my lifetime but I figure one idealist can turn into two and build into something much bigger than that. Am I the only one who thinks Bono was a hypocrite talking about making poverty history while he was planning on building a huge U2 tower in Ireland. Thankfully these 'hard economic times'(That phrase drives me crazy and I'll explain why in a another post) have prevented that, for now.
I grow more concerned everyday with what I see, but in the same token I see more people who realize something needs to be done and that eases my concern. We just have to keep on moving and we will get there.
What are your solutions? Do you think it is as bad as I think it is? Let me know!
There is a small minority using the vast majority of the world's resources. To bring impoverished people up to our standards will only serve to destroy us. The world cannot sustain that kind of load. We need to strike a balance by making some drastic changes to our lifestyle while helping improve the lives of others. For those of you who say, that is not my problem, that has nothing to do with me, I ask you, where did you buy your new shirt or anything for that matter? The follow up question is where did that shirt come from and does the person who made it bring enough money home to feed and house their family? If you have not done the research, for all you know, you have supported a manufacturer who paid their employees pennies for something they sold for much more. I look around my home and I realize that I have done this very thing I now know to be wrong. I am part of the problem. And so are many of you reading this.
The way to turn this ship around before we run aground is to educate people. For starters I am going to take it upon my self to learn more about ethical consumerism. This of course is only part of the solution. I have come to the realization that the solution does not just lie in making poverty history, it lies in making wealth history. I am an idealist and I realize that people are not just going to give up their wealth or their affluent lifestyle in my lifetime but I figure one idealist can turn into two and build into something much bigger than that. Am I the only one who thinks Bono was a hypocrite talking about making poverty history while he was planning on building a huge U2 tower in Ireland. Thankfully these 'hard economic times'(That phrase drives me crazy and I'll explain why in a another post) have prevented that, for now.
I grow more concerned everyday with what I see, but in the same token I see more people who realize something needs to be done and that eases my concern. We just have to keep on moving and we will get there.
What are your solutions? Do you think it is as bad as I think it is? Let me know!
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1 comments:
Too many people turn Deaf ears and blind eyes to the things around them. They are afraid to see the need in front of them simply because it will mean having to do something to help. We need to look out, reach out and lift up those who need a hand.
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