Why should we bear some of the blame? We are turning into a self-indulgent, greedy, inconsiderate nation of people. We ignore excessive lifestyles through denial; we hate the inconvenience of the possibility that we are destroying something precious. We stand by and let greedy corporations buy our government; we ignore that it is happening.
When is the last time any of us has truly appreciated the sacrifice of the people, animal, and the planet for our lifestyle? Would we continue to live this way if we realized all the harm we cause? What if we each knew how many species we individually have destroyed? What if we knew how many people we have harmed or killed because of the unfair sweatshop conditions?
What if we understood how much better it could be than this?
God made the earth; He made it good. He has given us the great task of taking care of our home while enjoying the great things and pleasures it offers. How are we doing? Do we really think about it and care?
For a visual understanding of what the current oil spill is doing, visit this site:
2 comments:
Ever wonder what would happen if it were centered in Corvallis? http://www.ifitwasmyhome.com/ BAM I think people have a better idea of the damage they are causing than they do on how to fix it. How do we actually get a government for the people? Find the reasonably priced products made in a humane fashion? Questions are not rhetorical, if you know the answer let me know please!
I would argue that before we can fix our problems, we need even more understanding and, more importantly, acknowledgement that there is a big problem. For whatever reason, I get the feeling that much of our nation does not want to make sacrifices to help. With this attitude, nothing can change for the better.
However, you are right. It is hard to know what to do to help. I think that a good first step for people is to bring build conscientiousness into every day life. Do we use reusable shopping bags? Do we avoid buying excessive amounts of stuff? Do we consider taking shorter showers to save water/electricity? Do we try to use the car minimally? There are so many questions we can ask ourselves daily to check our attitude of willingness to acknowledge and address problems. Once people start to care, creativity and passion can happen to work on issues.
I can’t pretend that I have an answer to fix the large problems in our government. That being said, the consumer and voter can have a huge influence on business and government. If people refuse to buy products, the market has to change. If a sufficient community of support stands together, great political movements can happen. Hopefully something like this can happen. If someone else knows more about what we can do to help our government be more high-quality-of-life oriented, I’d love to hear about it.
Regarding your question about how consumers can consume wisely, I think that the internet is my biggest answer. There are many people committed to telling the inside story about what we are buying. Just be careful to check your sources, of course. Additionally, I have the feeling that we are going to have to be willing to pay more and buy less for our goods. Our definition of “reasonably priced” might need to change as we understand the hidden costs of our goods.
I think that in general what I’m trying to suggest is that people start allowing themselves to feel pain over our world and then do what they can to work to a solution. How can any significant change happen when so many people don’t even want to acknowledge or address the problem?
Post a Comment