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It is a strange age that we live in. I imagine that there was a time, a long time, in which one could see the results of his/her actions. It was a time in which one could base his/her decisions on what was known from first hand experience and first hand knowledge. Such a time is past. I may be oversimplifying (and perhaps idealizing) the ages come and gone, but the fact of a serious disconnect between our choices and their consequences remains. I struggle with this on a regular basis. It seems to me that in our age of choices, of unfathomable options, there is a severe lack of information to properly equip us properly for making said choices. There is often a pervasive sense of powerlessness in the face of this global economic dreadnought that we have unwittingly created.
It would be hard to imagine that there are many who have not heard of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. For nearly three months we saw news reports of the unimaginable volumes of crude oil gushing into the waters (hundreds of millions of gallons). For those of us who are old enough to remember the Exxon Valdez spill from two decades ago, we are given to measure this current disaster in recognizable terms: almost two Exxon spills every week!
I’ve heard and been involved in many conversations in which we denounce the greed and short-sightedness of those in charge of BP. I also heard a fellow on the radio suggest that those who drive their vehicles to environmental rallies are as guilty as the heads of BP. I found that I had trouble disagreeing with his statement. This is not to say that we car/truck drivers are equally as guilty in any quantifiable sense; instead he is suggesting that all who share in the consumption of petroleum products, which includes absolutely everyone in our society to varying degrees, share in the communal guilt of this disaster. He’s right. We all play a part in the consumption of, and demand for, cheap fuel. We create and continue the market drive for more oil. We are all players in the game. This is an example of an easily identifiable connection between our choices, our lifestyles, and their (unintended) consequences. There are so many other less obvious connections, most of which we are blissfully ignorant about.
I recently came across an article about ‘blood phones’ (also a video). If you remember the awareness that was raised not too long about regarding ‘blood diamonds’, this is similar. Apparently there may be a relation between our Blackberry phones, our iPhones, and the bloody war(s) currently raging in the DR Congo. I will not discuss here the unmentionable atrocities taking place (though they must be mentioned, I'll leave that to those more informed than myself); sufficed to say that none of us desire to have any connection with what is taking place there - let alone be found financially supporting the warlords committing such horrors. But, how are we to know about hidden connections such as this one?
It becomes almost overwhelming (and at times is indeed overwhelming) to think about the various and hidden ways in which our society's operation on a daily basis affects the wider world: The cheap meats we enjoy linked to great environmental degradation (not to mention voluminous petroleum use and gross labour/human rights abuses)? The clothes we wear linked to sweat-shops in Asia? The cheap imports we purchase linked with child labour in India and around the world? The tropical fruits finding their way to our kitchen tables linked with global warming (the effects of which are becoming increasingly visible in communities and various plant and animal species around the world) It seems inevitable that our desire for goods affects countless others in our increasingly globalized world. Yes, at times it can indeed seem overwhelming. What are we to do?
I'm not suggesting that we all need to know everything about everything. We simply cannot know the origins and consequences of everything we purchase and every decision we make (in some cases, such as food labeling, companies go to great lengths to hide origins). I'm also not trying to accuse or point fingers (I find that approach is seldom constructive). What I am advocating is thinking and acting. We must think about our choices and actions as much as we are able to. We must act on the reliable information that we are given.
Should we stop driving cars? Should we have a technological pogrom against all cellphones, digital cameras, and laptops? Should we put an end to all meat consumption, ban bananas, dress solely in locally grown/produced hemp clothing, and close down all dollar stores, Walmart and Cosco? Well, no; I'm not advocating these knee-jerk reactions. Should we be moved to some kind of self-flagellation? No, punishment and severe criticism is not the answer either (though a little bit of honest, and reasonable, penance never hurts). Neither is finger-pointing the answer (unless you have lots of fingers and one reserved for yourself); it's too easy and unconstructive to place all the blame on our neighbours (yes, even if they drive a hummer); self-righteous hypocrisy is not the answer.
Reasonable knowledge, thought, awareness, and action are what are required: think, learn, and act. I hear a lot about 'purchasing power' and the 'democratic dollar' - every purchase is a vote. Companies want to be seen as 'green' and 'humanitarian'. The more we tell them what is important to us, the more they will change to fit these priorities. Step by step we need to change the way we live and the way we consume. We need to make little changes (little changes can turn into big ones). We need to learn, communicate, discuss, and influence.
What ought I to do? Well, I'm writing this blog post on my iBook... I think I'll start by writing a letter to Steve Jobs and share with him my hopes for the people of DR Congo.
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