05 June 2003
As the song goes "And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free..." yes free to bitch, whine and moan about our shitty government, crappy environment and all the problems with the rest of the fudged (but I don't mean fudge) up world and not have to do a single thing about it. Well I for one am certainly a culprit and I would really like to stop but with so much crap going on where does one begin.
In the last couple months I have decided to tackle 2 main causes for myself - the plight of the Tibetans and sweat shops. My personal campaign for Tibet takes form in not buying items manufactured in China, which is no easy feat, while this has disuaded me from purchasing a lot of crap, most of which I didn't need anyway like some Simpson's toys, I have not been completely successful. I have purchased a few items, ones that I did need, that for some reason is not made anywhere but China this saddens me but for the most part of stuck to my guns. As far as the sweatshops are concerned this gets really tricky; I don't buy Nike products, stay away from the Gap, Banana Republic and (it breaks my heart) Old Navy also I've banned myself from buying any Levis, oh I've also seen some bad reports about Sears brand clothing. Since I really don't shop for clothes that often this isn't a far stretch for me but what happens when I start having kids, where does Target or the manufacturers it carries get there clothes made and in what conditions. Maybe I can take a sewing class and just make my own line of clothes, there is something to be said about self-reliance.
Anyway all this stuff kinda freaks me out, half of me wants to say screw it I can't possibly make a difference so why try but the other half says well if everyone had that attitude then where would we be and what state would the planet be in now. While I have been doing what I'm doing I haven't really made my plights known, a handful of people know but I don't make the effort to spread the word. Maybe I should start replying to all the religious emails being forwarded to me with a little reminder of the atrocities being committed in the world that people either don't know about or choose to ignore. Peace!
In the last couple months I have decided to tackle 2 main causes for myself - the plight of the Tibetans and sweat shops. My personal campaign for Tibet takes form in not buying items manufactured in China, which is no easy feat, while this has disuaded me from purchasing a lot of crap, most of which I didn't need anyway like some Simpson's toys, I have not been completely successful. I have purchased a few items, ones that I did need, that for some reason is not made anywhere but China this saddens me but for the most part of stuck to my guns. As far as the sweatshops are concerned this gets really tricky; I don't buy Nike products, stay away from the Gap, Banana Republic and (it breaks my heart) Old Navy also I've banned myself from buying any Levis, oh I've also seen some bad reports about Sears brand clothing. Since I really don't shop for clothes that often this isn't a far stretch for me but what happens when I start having kids, where does Target or the manufacturers it carries get there clothes made and in what conditions. Maybe I can take a sewing class and just make my own line of clothes, there is something to be said about self-reliance.
Anyway all this stuff kinda freaks me out, half of me wants to say screw it I can't possibly make a difference so why try but the other half says well if everyone had that attitude then where would we be and what state would the planet be in now. While I have been doing what I'm doing I haven't really made my plights known, a handful of people know but I don't make the effort to spread the word. Maybe I should start replying to all the religious emails being forwarded to me with a little reminder of the atrocities being committed in the world that people either don't know about or choose to ignore. Peace!
