And so we vote!

I have felt compelled to write about the 2012 election a few times either on Facebook on my blog.  Each time I start typing, my words fall short of the ideas in my head, and I worry that I will add to the drivel of election season.  Heaven forbid!  Finally, as election day has arrived, I think that I have figured out the words that I wish to add to the "conversation".

We have heard over and over from opposing parties about how awful (or wonderful!) things would be if a candidate is elected this year.  The numbers have been crunched (or made up), facts (or lies/half-truths) have been brought to the voters' attention, and speeches have been made (and then taken out of context)!  I don't think that anybody can deny that election season is messy in the U.S.

So what do I want to add to all of it?  My call to unify rather than polarize.  My prayer is that we:

• Unify as a nation to face our problems and work together, taking time to consider diverse opinions, to solve them.
• Bring peace to the world.
• Use resources (monetary and planetary) wisely so as to provide a positive future for generations to come
• Face the problem of climate change and deal with human impacts responsibly.
• Be compassionate to those in need that we are able to help.
• Create policies that bring justice, social and otherwise, both in our country and the rest of the world.
• Create a food system that is safe, healthy, just, and sustainable.
• Treat all people with equal respect and rights.
• And..

Regardless of who wins any elections, I hope that our representatives in government succeed in creating a better country and a better world through their policies.  We are not electing "the lesser of two (or more) evils", we are electing one of two (or more) people.  Each person will have both talents and faults to share as he or she governs.

But if we bicker and complain and attack our candidates and then our leaders, how are we making anything better?  How can we work together after an election if we can't be civil during one?

I end with these thoughts:  Our country, and our world, is made up of citizens.  Our government has a huge amount of power, and it can make choices that largely impact individuals and the world at large.  However, while I cannot control the choices of the government, I am left with the choice about what kind of citizen I wish to be.

I can contact my representatives to let them know how I feel about different issues.  I can stay caught up with the news even between election cycles so that I can understand the array of issues better and be as well-informed as possible.  I can choose my words wisely when discussing politics; I can speak gently instead of with the grace of a battering ram.

I can share my resources with others.  I can improve my community.  I can participate in meetings of the local government.  I can make choices with others' needs in mind.  I can volunteer.

I have the power to bring beauty and love, or darkness and hate, into the world.

I want, and will work toward, good things in the world, and no election can change that.  I simply believe that I can be a more effective citizen if I am engaged, cooperating, thoughtful, concerned, and respectful instead of whiny, uncooperative, attacking, violent, and disrespectful.

And, besides my own ballot, that is my contribution to the election of 2012.

FASHION!

Did I mention that I miss writing in my blog?  I really do.  I don't know what's wrong with me... Actually, I do.  Fact:  I find it challenging to just sit unless I'm doing something at the computer for my students.  I like to DO!  However, today I'm kind of tired, and sitting on the couch writing a blog post sounds just right...

But I digress.

FASHION!

Those who know me well may wonder why I am writing a post about fashion.  I think it is fate.  (It's certainly not because I can tell you what the current fashions are...)  Two people brought clothing to my attention through two articles/blog posts on Facebook this week.  The first is an article written by a journalist who does some research about the "afterlife" of much the clothing we buy in the U.S.  The second is a blog post written by a Christian woman who is giving her two cents about the Great Christian Modesty Debacle.  I am not going to summarize or paraphrase what these people say since they do such a good job of speaking for themselves, so I would recommend reading the links before you continue.

Done?  OK.  Let's go.

I honestly don't have much to say about the article about the afterlife of clothing except that I continue to hope and pray that we come to our senses when it comes to "stuff".  It truly baffles me that we discard so much clothing in the U.S. that after thrift stores get stuffed to the gills, the natural solution is to turn perfectly good (sometimes brand new) clothing into rags or to ship it off to Africa.  The whole thing reeks of waste.

The post regarding the Great Christian Modesty Debacle earns more of a response.  Sheila and I agree that rules about modesty may very well go beyond what God requires (for example, a rule where women are only allowed to wear skirts/dresses down to the ankle).  We also agree that the clothing that we wear does not have to be societally unfashionable.  However, Sheila makes the argument that, in fact, Christian women have the duty to God and their husbands to be societally fashionable.   It is with this thesis that I am taken aback.

The following ideas run through my own head as I consider Sheila's post:

My husband loves me, is proud of me, and is attracted to me regardless of the clothes that I wear.  He loves me because we are called to love.  He is proud of me based on my actions and the content of my character.  He is attracted to me because he loves me and he is proud of me and I'm ME!

I do not need to earn the respect of society through what I wear.  I will earn respect through who I am and what I do.

There is nothing wrong with something "looking like it came from a thrift shop".  There is nothing wrong with used clothes or hand-me-downs.  There is nothing wrong with wearing "last year's fashions".  There is nothing wrong with the people who cannot afford to put together a closet of clothing that makes them look stylish.  There is nothing wrong with people who can afford to put together such a wardrobe but choose not to.

I do not believe that I can justify spending my money on a fashionable wardrobe in this society.  Women are expected to have a bunch of different outfits and be in fashion at all times (even when fashions change on a dime).  This can be expensive, and I feel that I can be a better steward of our resources.

I do not believe that I can justify the environmental and social ramifications of a fashionable wardrobe.  Creating fashion creates waste through the production of the fabric, the shipping of everything, and the discards readily cast aside as fashion changes.  Additionally, if I buy new clothing, I run the risk of supporting a company that allows horrible work conditions unless I do my research first.

I do believe that I should respect, appreciate, and thank God for the clothing and resources that God has provided.  This keeps me satisfied with what I have instead of in want for more.  This encourages me to wear my clothing until it is worn out.  This prevents me from feeling like I have "nothing to wear".

Overall, I personally found that Sheila has too much concern for appearances and plays into what I believe is one of our culture's issues.  While you may have noticed that I wrestle with some of what Paul wrote, I think that this is something particularly beautiful that he left us:

Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray—not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God. And I want women to get in there with the men in humility before God, not primping before a mirror or chasing the latest fashions but doing something beautiful for God and becoming beautiful doing it. 
1 Timothy 2:9-10

I pray for beauty from doing something beautiful for God!

As always, you are more than welcome to disagree with me, but I thought that I'd get my perspective out there since, after all, this is my blog. :)

Compassion

As we near the end of the Easter season, I want to give a shout out to Jesus.  One of the attributes of Jesus that  always moves me is His compassion.  I think that we take it for granted that Jesus was a man of great compassion.  According to the Bible, Jesus was moved with compassion repeatedly.  He felt compassion when He was in the presence of the ill (Matthew 14:14). He felt compassion for his followers when they were hungry (Matthew 15:32).  He had compassion for those debilitated by blindness (Matthew 20:34).  In other stories I sense His compassion even if the Bible does not describe Him as feeling compassion at the moment.  When He speaks gently to the adulteress despite all of the men ready to condemn her.  When he restores His relationship with Peter.  When He raises Lazarus to ease the burden for a widow with no other sons.

When Jesus saw people hurting, He generally seemed to feel compassion, and He would fill the needs of the people around Him.  Ultimately, I believe that Jesus' compassion for us is what led him to the cross.  He saw our need for an ultimate sacrifice to pay off a debt, and so He paid the debt.

I am moved by the compassion shown by Jesus.  Thanks be to God that Jesus didn't just see problems and say, "Well, if they had made better decisions, and if people just did things better, that wouldn't have been a problem.  They really should just pull themselves up by their bootstraps and make something of themselves!"  Instead, He first met needs, and by doing so He generally seemed to gain favor and followers.

---

Recently, I have been considering how I would like our country to run with the idea of showing compassion as Jesus did.  One current hot topic is the mandate for all people to have health insurance.  This has been brought to the Supreme Court because some feel like it is unconstitutional to mandate that all people buy health insurance.  The Daily Show had a segment about this recently, and I think Jon Stewart really hits the nail at one point.  The following segment has been on my mind for a few days now (NOTE: At the end there are some graphic cartoon beheadings.  I think it's a segment with a great points and it's worth watching, but I  totally admit that the beheadings are gross.  Feel free to stop the video at 3:40 if you have delicate sensibilities!):

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

In this video, Donald Verrilli, the US Solicitor General, says that paying for our health system is predominantly done by health insurance, but over 40 million Americans do not have access to health insurance and for these people our health care system is not working.  Justice Antonin Scalia says that the US federal government is not supposed to be the government that has all the powers, but rather, it is supposed to have limited powers.  Jon Stewart then points out that the government is looking for a way to solve a problem the U.S. citizens have.  Namely, to have a system where insurance companies can afford to take all people (including those with pre-existing conditions, for example), we must have all people participating in the system to share the cost.  Stewart then picks up on a key exchange between General Verrilli and Justice Scalia:

General Verrilli: ...in the health care market, you're going into the market without the ability to pay for what you get, getting the health care service anyway as a result of the social norms that allow — that — to which we've obligated ourselves so that people get health care.

Justice Scalia: Well, don't obligate yourself to that. Why — you know?

And herein lies the crux of the matter! Until another solution is put on the table, the choice being made here is really between providing or denying health care to those without insurance, for whatever reason.

Note: For time purposes, the Daily Show obviously must exclude a lot of the exchange. For the transcript of the case, go here.

Forty million Americans don't have access to health insurance, but they still get sick and injured. How can we not have compassion on them and do what we can to heal them? I may not be able to pay all their medical bills myself, but there is a change to our system that we can make to help them to have access to the care that they need. How can I not support that change?

---

Another group of people who have been the object of scorn is those in the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Mind you, I'm aware of the weaknesses of the movement. However, it's memes like this that make me sad. While I'm sure some people are lazy, wanting too much, etc., is it alright to minimize the legitimate hurts of people due to the issues in our system and country? Do we really still believe that everybody still has equal opportunity in our country? If we don't, how should we react?

In my mind, I would rather be cheated by a lazy person to guarantee that a few other underdogs get what they need. While there are still hungry and homeless in our country, our work isn't done.

---

A song by Derek Webb always stirs my heart.

My Enemies are Men Like Me

I have come to give you life

And to show you how to live it

I have come to make things right

To heal their ears and show you how to forgive them

‘Cause I would rather die

I would rather die

I would rather die than to take your life

‘Cause how can I kill the ones I’m supposed to love

My enemies are men like me

So I will protest the sword if it’s not wielded well

‘Cause my enemies are men like me

Peace by way of war

Is like purity by way of fornication

It’s like telling someone murder is wrong

And then showing them by way of execution

And I would rather die

I would rather die

I would rather die than to take your life

‘Cause how can I kill the ones I’m supposed to love

My enemies are men like me

So I will protest the sword if it’s not wielded well

‘Cause my enemies are men like me

When justice is bought and sold just like weapons of war

Oh, the ones who always pay are the poorest of the poor

So how can I kill the ones I’m supposed to love

My enemies are men like me

So I will protest the sword if it’s not wielded well

‘Cause my enemies are men like me

---

I ache as we struggle to extend our hands to those in need.  I ache as we go to war over and over again and innocent people die for a cause that I cannot name.  I ache for the hungry.  I ache for the cold.  I ache for those who are facing medical debt.

I ache because I know better, but I still don't always offer compassion.

I am grateful that I have opportunities to give compassion.

I am grateful that God is more compassionate and loving than we can imagine.  I celebrate His compassion, and I ask to be able to do my part to extend it to our world.

As we observe Good Friday, I thank Jesus for having compassion for all people.
Happy Easter

Electronics: They come from where?

Note:  Before reading this post, I want to disclose the fact that after I wrote this post I found out that Dr. Daisey perhaps used some creative license to share the information he gave.  It's not that the information about the working conditions is necessarily false, but, from what I can tell, he essentially is telling some true stories and some made-up stories that he believes honestly represents true situations.  The information he gives matches with other sources that I have read, so I still think it is still worth thinking about.  However, I do wish that he hadn't been somewhat "deceptive" in how he delivered the information.

A couple of my friends linked to Mr. Daisey and The Apple Factory on Facebook recently, and one friend asked if I had heard it and said:

"Maybe you could do a blog post about "good" vs. "bad" companies: are there any that are responsible third-world employers? What does that even mean? Which major (tech) manufacturers don't use third-world labor?"

Well, I had not yet listened to the radio show, but I had heard of Foxconn and their policies.  However, I am going to go ahead and listen to the show (which is about an hour long), and I will make notes as I go in case you don't have an hour to listen to such things.  I am taking notes quickly, so let me know if you thing I mistyped something that was said.  The notes are in purple, so you can skip them if you just want to see the punchline at the end: I will tell you my findings about "good" and "bad" companies and third-world labor.

• Daisey loves his electronics, but he points out that he rarely thinks about how things are made.  He says that he sort of assumed that robots made them.  However, he learned that humans are involved in the process, and then he started to think.
• Shenzhen (a city of over 8 million people) is the place in China where almost all our "crap" comes from, yet most of us don't know it's name.  We know the stuff's from China, but we don't realize it usually comes from one specific city.  Corporations made a deal with the Chinese to help create a modern China.  Shenzhen is part of this deal.
• Daisey plans to go to Foxconn which is a company that makes electronics for Apple, Dell, Samsung, Nokia, etc.  He plans to stand at the main gate and talk to anybody who wants to talk to him.  Journalists in Hong Kong tell him it's a bad idea, but he can't get any information through the normal channels.  
• When he got there, he saw that the plant is enormous - 430,000 workers.  There are more than 20 cafeterias at the plant each one holding up to 10,000 people.  (Try to visualize that!)  There are guards at the gate who look "really pissed", and they carry guns.  
• Recently a journalist had been beaten for taking pictures near the Foxconn building.
• Daisey was there right after the successive suicides at Foxconn.  The nets to catch the suicidal people have been put into place.
• A huge line of people show up to talk to him!  They want to tell him the stories of their lives and workplace.
• One lady cleans the screens of I-phones.  She's 13 years old.  Some of her friends have jobs at Foxconn too.  Foxconn doesn't check ages.  During an inspection, Foxconn puts the oldest workers on the inspected line.
• Can Apple not know?  A company obsessed with the details?  Or are they just doing what we're all doing?  Do they seek what they want to see?
• His next plan was to visit a bunch of factories, pretend to be a businessman, and pretend to want to buy whatever factories are selling.
• Each factory had gates and guards.  Then big green lawns and huge lobbies.  The executives come down "in a gaggle" and escort you to a conference room.  Then they show you the factory floor.  The floors are silent.  Nobody is allowed to speak on the line.  The only sound is  bodies moving constantly.
• Anything that can be made by hand is made by hand because the cost of labor is effectively zero.
• The people he talked to worked 12 hour shifts standard, but often much longer than that.  When a "hot new gadget" is coming out, they might work 16 hours or more a day for months.  While he's in the country, a Foxconn worker died after working a 34-hour shift.  That's not the only case of that happening.
• Dormitories are cement cubes.  About 12'x12' with 13-15 beds.  There are cameras in the rooms and hallways.
• The way Daisey sees everything is starting to change.
• He notices that things are still "handmade", just not in the way that we always wish things were handmade.
• Runs through his head: "Paranoia is not paranoia if they're actually out to get you."  He goes to a restaurant to meet with a union interested in labor reform.  These are secret because you can go to prison for years for being involved with one of these unions.  He wants to hear what they have to say.
• There is turmoil is Southern China.  They helped organize a strike in Honda factories.
• n-hexane is used to clean screens, and it's a known neurotoxin.
• Peoples' joints have disintegrated by the time they are 26 of 27 from doing the same motion over and over and over.  Then they are fired.
• If you talk to the labor board about problems, you get put on the black list and you get fired.
• The workers usually never get to see the final product on.  A worker said, "It's a kind of magic," when he got to see an I-pad working.
• His partner (Kathy, a Chinese translator) wonders if they are mentally ill.  "Are they making it up?"  Daisey's answer, "What do you think?"   Kathy says, "No... It's just, you hear stories, but you do not think it is going to be so much, you know?  It's just so much."

The following is the host's responses and further exploration (I didn't do a terrific job with this section, sorry):  

• The host did their best to fact check everything from the excerpt.  The host tried to get Apple and Foxconn to respond, but they refused.
• Only one real objection from Ian Spaulding, founder and managing director of INFACT Global Partners, which goes into Chinese factories and helps them meet social responsibility standards set by Western companies:  There is child labor in China, but not in top-tier electronics factories.  Daisey continues to claim that he met the workers.  Not many, but some.
• Apple found 91 under-aged workers in an audit of it's own factories.  It helped the kids get back in school, and ended working with one supplier.
•  SACOM, Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior, based in Hong Kong claims:
• The workers are forced to stand to improve productivity
• 10-20% overturn of workers every month
• Workers leaving forces factories to make some improvements
• Apples claims they are 100% transparent, but they refuse to come to the air
• They have a code of conduct the suppliers must comply with, and Apple conducts audits
• If audits don't go well, Apple claims to end work with supplier
• Apple asks suppliers not to use n-hexane
• Daisey is happy they do some things, but he is concerned that even in Apple's own reports, things aren't good.  He thinks companies need to be held responsible, but they won't provide supplier names so that people can independently check up on things.
• The question is, "Should we feel weird about buying these things made faraway?"
• Many say no.  Sometimes the factories are an improvement from other possibilities (including poverty).
• People say that the factories provide employment opportunities in China, especially for young women.  It takes people from the grimness of rice paddies to the grimness of Foxconn.
• Sweatshops are bad, but they help fight poverty.
• "Sweatshops are a phase countries go through."
• Daisey just wants basic worker protection.  Rotate people in jobs in factories.  Inspect without announcement.
• We fought for these things in our country to protect people.  Then we just shipped the jobs to other countries to treat other people as poorly.

"Out of sight, out of mind..."

First of all, the ethics of electronics goes way beyond the serious labor issues.  I just read The Story of Stuff recently, and I learned a lot about electronics.  (I highly recommend that book, by the way!)  The ethical issues begin with sourcing of materials which often damages natural resources in other countries and even forces people off of their land, and the issues end with the fact that electronics are often sent to China at the end of their lifetimes where they are recycled by workers who are not properly equipped to be dealing with the toxins and other nasties that the electronics are filled with.  From beginning to end, and all the way throughout the process, the manufacturing of electronics is a messy process that maybe should probably turn some heads.

Now back to the original concern.  I am similar to Daisey in that I think that we should care that people are not being treated well as they make all of our "crap".  However, in my research, it is really hard to label any company as "good" or "bad".  I have read that HP does a fair amount to try to be "good", but even HP is not close to perfect when it comes to helping the environment or people.

So what should we buy?  There is no black-or-white answer here!  However, first of all, buying used or refurbished is probably best for the environment and people.  Additionally, buying fewer electronic gadgets in general is an option.  If you are going to buy something new, though, you might want to check it out on the Good Guide which is an amazing site (recommended by the author of The Story of Stuff, Annie Leonard).  You can get the Good Guide to rank potential purchases by different issues (environment, society, health, etc).

Other sites that I found interesting:

• Green Peace ranks electronics companies based on environmental concerns
• Here is where HP discusses their supply chain policies.  There website has a lot of information about their social and environmental policies, although it isn't easy to verify that they are maintained.
• This post is a similar discussion to that of this blog post.
• The Ethical Consumer site has information about audio/visual electronics, and they are similar to the Good Guide in purpose.

Good luck to all of you who are interested in being an ethical consumer!  It's not always clear what the best decision is, I don't think, but I personally think that if we choose to work to improve things, things will get better.  At the very least, let's not have the "out of sight, out of mind" mentality anymore.  Let's keep this in the open and keep discussing things because we want to make the world better for everyone.  Additionally, feel free to contact companies when you question their values.  Let them know if you choose another company over theirs because companies will respond to consumer pressure.

Keeping the Baby, but throwing out the Women with the bathwater

If you have been following the headlines much recently, you may have noticed that Susan G. Komen for the Cure has pulled its contributions to Planned Parenthood with the reasoning that they do not give money to agencies under investigation by Congress.

I know that a lot of anti-abortion people rejoice as Planned Parenthood loses funding.  I understand that Planned Parenthood performs many of our nation's abortions, and I guess that the idea is that if they aren't funded as much, then people won't have as many abortions.  I assume that the symbolism of crushing a huge abortion provider is also appreciated.

The thing that bothers me is that I haven't seen a single anti-abortion person or website acknowledge the fact that there will almost definitely be huge negative consequences for pulling funds from Planned Parenthood.  The consequences, in my opinion, deserve consideration.

Here is a side rant.  You can tell because it's in a new color.  While I want abortion to be gone from the world, there are a few reasons why I really struggle to label myself as "pro-life" in the political sense.  One of the reasons is that I feel like there is too much hypocrisy.  The pro-life politicians are the same ones that do not seem to be worried about providing for our poor.  They are the ones who often do not want the government to guarantee healthcare to everybody (instead letting the free market choose who gets healthcare, I assume).  They are the ones who are more likely to jump at going to war.  They are the ones more likely to support capital punishment.  It is fairly convenient to outlaw abortion.  It is incredibly inconvenient to be willing to give up our resources to help those who need it.  If I am going to jump on the "pro-life" train, I need to know that the train is not only concerned about the rights of the baby before it's born, but also the rights and health of the baby (and mother!) throughout life.  Until then, I continue to stand against abortion, but I view it as a cause that is intermingled with other causes that need to simultaneously be addressed if I say I believe in the value of all life.  Which I find that I do!

*ahem* Back to my main post.  The problem is that Planned Parenthood does more than provide abortions.  It is a huge provider of birth control, cancer screenings, preventative education, STD treatment, menopause treatment, etc.  The kicker?  75% of its clients have incomes at or below 150% of the federal poverty level.  (According to Wikipedia.)  This means that millions of poor women are using the Planned Parenthood facilities to participate in potentially life-saving activities.  Additionally, other services provided (like the STD treatment) are generally just improving the quality of life of the individual receiving treatment.

So why is no anti-abortion person talking about the fact that the defunding of Planned Parenthood will likely cause poor women to be less likely to receive the care that they need?  Why are we praising God that Susan G. Komen is removing its funding for cancer screenings?  Doesn't this appear to be callous?  Isn't there more to be talked about here?  

I think babies are incredibly important people, but I don't want to just keep the babies and throw out the women with the bath water.

Note: As I am about to publish this, I found that Susan G. Komen has decided to continue providing Planned Parenthood the grant money to provide cancer screenings and preventative education.  I hope that we can all agree to celebrate the lives that hopefully will be saved or bettered by the treatments provided through this grant money!

Second Note:  Regarding the investigation... I understand that if Planned Parenthood is illegally using federal funds then, from my understanding, it forfeits the right to those funds.  That is a separate issue.

Some Chocolate Love

 Do you think that chocolate is one of God's gifts to humankind?  I can't argue with you there.  It's delicious and apparently is even considered good for you when you eat it in the form of dark chocolate!

Unfortunately, the way that cocoa is grown and sourced is currently not one of God's gifts.  There is a huge problem with child labor and even slavery in the industry.  Beyond retaining people against their will, the form of slavery used includes physical violence including whipping.

These people are real people.  I quote from Food Is Power:

"Drissa, a recently freed cocoa slave who had never even tasted chocolate, experienced similar circumstances and when asked what he would tell the people who eat chocolate made from slave labor, he replied that the people enjoyed something that he suffered to make, adding: 'When people eat chocolate they are eating my flesh.'"

There is a lot more information about the conditions and reality of cocoa farming at the same page on Food Is Power.

The good news is that there are things that you can do to try to avoid this chocolate!  Perhaps the best way would be to look for Fair Trade certified chocolate.  (While there are imperfections in any certification, it does provide accountability.)
There is a more comprehensive description about how to find slave-free chocolate at this site, and it even includes a list of Slave-Free chocolates to choose from!  If you find you really get into the issue, you can let your favorite chocolate companies know that you do not approve of slave labor in the acquisition of cocoa products.  If you can honestly say that you will avoid buying their chocolate until they change their policies, that provides a good consumer pressure on the company.

As you buy some chocolate to say "I love you" to people this year at Valentine's Day, you can also say "I love you" to some people in Africa by getting slave-free chocolate.  How cool is that?!

Not just relevant to the past: Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

On this day, many people in our nation get a day off from school or work in honor of someone that our nation has decided is a hero worth honoring.  We know that Dr. King was a huge force that pushed the civil rights movement to a new level.  However, I think that if he visited our nation today, he would probably not think that he could rest.  I believe that he would continue to fight for the underdogs in the system since the civil rights movement did not immediately create balance, and I learned today that he was a activist for the poor as well.

"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom."  -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Indeed, there was more to Dr. King than we commemorate!  While he was probably speaking out against spending our resources in Vietnam (a war which he opposed) when he said this, would he feel much different about the endless wars that we have been in since his untimely passing?  How would he feel about how we treat those in poverty today?  Would he think that we are sufficiently lifting them up?

I don't believe that Dr. King's goals for the US must be your goals.  I don't believe that he was a perfect man with all the right ideas.  However, from what I have heard, I do believe that he was a hero, and I respect him.  As such, I think that it is worth considering his ideas outside of the realm of civil rights.  So, as you go about your day, perhaps you can take a few moments to honor our hero by asking yourself what you are called to do to uplift those who need uplifting.

"Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness."  -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

May we live unselfish lives filled with love.  I leave you with a favorite quotation of mine:

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."  --Martin Luther King, Jr.

Because things are complicated...

... I write this post.  I reposted this meme on Facebook yesterday:

I do not know where this image originally came from!  I found it here,
but they do not state where they got it from.

I then explained what I thought when I saw it:

"I suppose that some explanation would be good, too. I'm not positive what was intended by these photos, but what I see is the irony of people thanking God for food that was provided to them (so cheaply!) at the expense of the underpaid, overworked workers. Perhaps I'm reading too much into it though, and perhaps it's just making the point that we should be grateful for our farmworkers (especially since they don't get paid much... and they are part of the reason food is so cheap...)

I stand by the point of irony, though."

I think that some people may have interpreted my words as saying that the family was conscious at the time of thanking God that their food was likely provided by workers that were, in some peoples' opinions, unfairly treated.  That honestly wasn't what was happening in my mind.  I was just noticing that in our system, we end up regularly thanking God for His provision, and to me something is wrong with this because it is hard for me to say that "God's provision" is food provided by workers in horrible conditions.  Minus the provision of the sun, the rain, and the beauty of growing plants, I do not see a lot of God in our food system.  This is where I find unfortunate irony.

Before I continue, I want people to realize that I am not suggesting that families starve before buying unfairly provided food.  Life is not black and white.  We all have our own decisions to make and battles to fight.

Now, here is where I confess that I draw these conclusions on my own.  There is nothing in the Bible saying that the US food system is broken.  There is nothing stating how much farm workers should make.  There is nothing stating how often farm workers should get breaks.  There is nothing stating how much compensation they should get when they get injured doing their jobs.  It is not even a church teaching that leads me to my conclusions.  I have not yet found a church who openly speaks about these things.  It is my own personal convictions that lead me to want others to know more about our system so that they can make their decisions based on knowledge.  I do not claim to be God's voice although I believe that He is the root of my passion for these issues.  If you disagree with me, that is certainly your right.  I'm human.  It's a humble position.  I could be wrong.

If I am honest, though, I do personally believe that Christians are sorely lacking when it comes to responding to issues of social justice.  I think that this happens partially because the issues are very complicated and not very self-apparent.  When you buy green beans at the store, you probably don't even think about where it came from or who picked it.  This isn't because you are a bad person, but it is because it is not how our culture works.  However, I also believe this happens because Christians do not separate themselves from the rest of culture when it comes to consumer habits.  While we say that "whatever we do, whether in word or deed, we do it for the glory of God" (or at least make it our goal), I think that somehow our consumer decisions are often made based off of the black and white ethical guide of, "Can I afford it or not?"  While certainly it is good to avoid debt if possible, I believe that a lot more should go into the decision to purchase almost any sort of item.  Food is certainly one example.  Another example that has gone painfully ignored is the use of sweatshops around the world to create almost all of the consumer goods that we buy: clothing, toys, electronics, etc.  Unlike our food system, I do believe that it is widespread knowledge that sweatshops are a problem, but I do not observe that Christians have, in my opinion, reacted accordingly.

I know I am not perfect.  I do try to buy food from farmers making fair wages.  I do this by trying to buy most things from local farms and looking for the fair trade certification.  I buy what I can from the co-op in Corvallis since I know they research the origins of products as much as they can.  However, there is a chance that some of my food still comes from poorly treated workers.  I also try to avoid sweatshop labor by buying almost everything used.  However, even in the last year I couldn't find a used soap dispenser (which I wanted to buy to use for homemade tooth soap so that we could stop buying toothpaste), so I ended up buying a new one.  I looked, and it had the typical "Made in China" sticker, and I felt the pang of guilt, praying that the workers who made it were treated well and apologizing if they weren't.  I know I am not perfect.


It is with humbleness that I ask you to weigh my words in your heart and decide for yourself whether or not these are problems that you are called to address in your life.  I don't expect anybody will be perfect, but I think that with God we can change the world just by trying to do right!  I personally believe that our government can be used to effect positive change as well, and I encourage you to use your voice in our democracy.  However, I think it would be huge and beautiful if we all work to put our money in positive places.

Because things are complicated... I ask you to consider my words and ideas.
Because things are complicated... I come to you humbly.  I could be wrong.
Because things are complicated... I hope to give and receive grace if and when we disagree.

Thank you for all of you who take the time to read my words on this blog.  I hope that I generally come across as informative and maybe occasionally inspiring rather than judgmental and critical.  I love you all!