What did you eat for dinner tonight? Say you went to McDonald’s (or any fast food restaurant, or any restaurant, or even the food that you popped in the microwave). What was in your hamburger? That hamburger meat, did it come from a well cow? How do you know? Was that cow tortured? Was it injected with steroids? The lettuce and other vegetables, were pesticides poured all over it? Do you know how much processing went into your cheese? Did a happy cow make that cheese? That paper sack in comes in, how many trees were cut down to make all the bags put out that day by just one restaurant? Did you thank the people who handed you your food? Or did you complain and curse at them when they forgot your ketchup? What about the clothing you wore there? Where did you get it? Who made it? Where did they make it? What were they paid? Did they volunteer to make it, or were they forced to? Are your garments made from threads of slavery?
What Are You Wearing?
social activismAmericans say all the time that we are fortunate. And oh, we are, but you see we have gambled our fortune away, and I would contend that there isn’t any turning back for our country as a whole. We buy things that slaves made. We put things into our bodies that are pumped full of things that shouldn’t be going into our body. And we treat the people who serve us like crap. Why? Because it’s the norm…but does that mean it’s okay? Definitely not. We have rationalized, justified, and made excuses for our poor eating habits because things “taste good”. Am I saying that you can never eat potato chips ever again? Definitely not. I’m saying that maybe you should think about where they came from–the potatoes, the packaging, the farmers, etc. Am I telling you to go completely organic? For some this is impossible, as the price on that type of food is expensive; that is another fallacy of our country–that poison is cheaper than nourishment. And am I telling you to quit shopping at Walmart, Nike, etc? Once again, that is all that some can afford, because our country has put slavery over quality.
This is something that I have been thinking about for quite a while now. There is no way that I can possibly quit buying things that are bad for me or that were made by slaves; I am poor and America has made it impossible for me. But it is free to be a social activist and volunteer your time somewhere. It’s free to pray for the people who make your clothing and furniture for dollars a week. It’s free to be kind to people who serve you through the drive through or at the grocery store. Or how about recycling? And maybe you could make some sacrifices as well–forgo Starbucks and bring food to the homeless in your town. Downgrade your phone plan and send money to a child in a third-world country. Instead of buying a few new pairs of shoes, you could buy just one slightly more expensive pair from an organization that gives shoes to other countries. Instead of buying your loved one the newest iPod, you could give families in third world countries goats this year for Christmas. There are small things that everyone can do.
Heather Lea Kenison 