This message is for everyone; the religious faithful, the political activist, the atheist and anyone else who considers themselves an American. Lately, I have come to the assumption that tolerance amongst people goes only as far as an individuals personal interest or belief. Sure, some will allow themselves to go to the point of civil discourse, yet for the majority, tolerance stops at their viewpoint. The advantage of living in this country is the freedom of self expression and speech as well as to exercise said expressions. What we as a country have to realize is that because of this freedom, demonstrated in the first amendment of our Constitution, there are going to be viewpoints you are going to disagree with. Some are bigoted, racist, sexist, anti-God, anti-religion, and the list goes on- the point is each individual has the right to express themselves in a peaceful manner. This does not indicate that you have to agree or even perhaps argue their viewpoint but you can not argue their right to say it; understand the distinction?
The danger behind stifling an individuals right to exemplify their faith or opinion is in essence a battle against your very own right to express your set of opinions. Thus, if the time were to arise for you to denote your individual set of beliefs and all you have done is rally to have other individuals rights taken away, yours will be taken too. As my mother use to say, "you can't have your cake and eat it too". Instead, know what it is that you believe so you can distinguish truth from fallacy. Learn how to reform an ignorant, bigoted ideology instead of taking away their right to say it. One more thing, just because someone share's their faith or beliefs does not mean they are forcing/shoving/indoctrinating you, unless of course it involves a threat, yet simply it means that the individual is passionate about their belief. For example, I have friends of every walk of life, I love hearing their stories and ideologies; many have shared their beliefs with me but because I am confident in what it is I hold to be truth, I do not find their beliefs intrusive. I can respect their ideas, even if I do not agree with them. I can even discourse with them and present another ideology without disregarding their right to express themselves.
In summation, stop getting huffy over a Jesus facebook post or a pro-gay marriage segment on TV (these are just examples) instead respect another individuals freedom of speech and religion. Be educated and educate your children to the values you hold to be true. If someone abuses their right to speech in the form of hatred, learn to reform mindsets or cultural stigmas. Tolerance and acceptance are two separate entities. "Of course, there are dangers in religious freedom and freedom of opinion. But to deny these rights is worse than dangerous, it is absolutely fatal to liberty." -Truman
You have probably seen at least one of these logos or icons at some point in your existence, perhaps you even identify with one of these symbols. Each one, along with the thousands more, are representative of an ideology or philosophy. Each symbol evokes an emotion upon first sight, some may evoke passionate sentiments and others are a fleeing thought.
I was sitting in my U.S. History class watching a documentary about the Freedom Riders (if you do not know who they were I suggest you look it up) and the sight of the Confederate flag roused my distaste for what that flag represented. It also reminded me of the disdain I sometimes have towards individuals in this state who wave around that flag proudly as if they had something to do with the history of it. That flag to me represents a bigoted, oppressive Southern mindset that held people in bondage for generations and the fact people still are proud of that history disturbs me. The point being, each symbol represents something. Businesses use logos to distinguish a product to the masses and we the people enjoy representing those emblems all over our clothes, cars, etc... In essence, there is nothing wrong with this but what one should take in consideration is the fact that the symbols one wears or advertises, identifies them with that ideology, company or philosophy- conscious of it or not.
Symbols have power and meaning- just because certain symbols are trending does not deprive them of the original and intended meaning. So next time you tote around a symbol, remember you are representing an ideology you may not truly associate with. So, what symbol are you representing?
"We are all searching for something valuable enough to live our lives for"- Dr. Woods. This was the introduction to my Eastern Civilization class this semester. In the introduction to the course, Dr. Woods challenged the class' world view by postulating the question every human since the beginning of time has dared to ask: What is humanity? What makes something wrong? In essence, Woods asked 'who am I' and where does morality derive from? About 16% of the class considers themselves composed of matter. Meaning they believe they were created through matter and will die as matter. In regards to morality, 43% of the class determined that individual conscience constructs our moral code; with 27% believing in God or a higher power who created moral law and 28% of the class believed society dictates morality. The issue behind some of these ideologies is the fact they are all subjective to the individual's or culture's set of beliefs. Even reason is dictated by what you perceive as truth. Where do our beliefs come from in the first place? Who says one is right and the other is wrong? What is wrong and right? How do we as a culture implement justice of those who have been wronged? Lots of philosophical questions that are hard to answer without an absolute standard in which we all agree upon.
All of these inquiries begged in me the question of 'what is worth' and 'who gives people worth?' Apart from a Creator i.e. God, worth can only be defined or given either by the self (to be self-defined) or worth is determined by others. If you boil it down to brass tax, both options are like building a house on sand. If our worth is determined by one's own self definition- it is no wonder why many people suffer from depression or false self image. We are our own worst critics, constantly on a tirade of pinpointing our flaws. In some ways, understanding our flaws and weaknesses can help us grow and discern but it also can skew our perception of who we truly are. Especially considering the fact we are so driven by emotions.
Worth defined by others is flawed as well. I asked an individual the other day 'what gives people value or worth' and he responded that people give validation to a person. If you look down the timeline of history, even to present day, the value of human life has been degraded in pursuit of progress, greed, resources, reproductive rights, etc... The opinion of even the ones closest to us can vary from day to day pending on a multitude of factors. If it is society or other people who apply worth to an individual, how do you explain the worth of the Jewish people to the Nazi regime? Or the slaves' inherent worth to Southern whites during the slave trades?
If people are simply matter, with all of our destinies ending in eventual death- what would cause an individual to value another's life over their own? Why try to cure cancers or risk our lives to save someone else's? The worth and value of each individual person is so incalculable that even our own perception or the opinions of others can not dictate it. I believe this worth can only be given by an unwavering truth. The Word of God is considered to be everlasting, eternal, a solid rock, never changing...what does the Creator say about you? He has given you infinite value...value that was not meant to be compromised. How absurd would it be for the most precious, prized jewel to sell itself short of its value? I leave you with this to ponder, who is allowing to give you value and worth in your life? Below is what God would say you are...just saying. ;)
Ever wear a pair of TOMS? How about a pair of TOMS with your American Apparel tee? Sure, we know that when we buy a pair of TOMS they send another pair to someone in a third world nation. A pretty neat idea and too be honest, I am glad that it has become trendy to have a pair of these shoes because of the heart behind the business. But if you break it down, how many people at this point are buying these shoes because of the humanitarian effort or because it is the latest hipster wear? Not trying to sound cynical, but honest. I wonder if those same hipster TOM wearers who sport their V-Neck American Apparel tee, know that the two brands contradict one another. Recently I found that American Apparel was an honorable mention in the 2010 Sweatshop Hall of Shame for poor business practices amongst Honduran workers. This brings me to my next point: how much do we know about the products we buy?
As I have researched human trafficking and others forms of indentured servitude, I have found the urge and importance to become a better consumer. I recognize that raising hell and picket fences is not going to accomplish much besides loud noise, yet realized that raising awareness and choosing not to support certain businesses is the best tactic against these poor practices. My research is far from over, yet some of the data I have found is a little disheartening, especially if some of these corrupt companies products can be found in your very own closet! I am all for giving people jobs, but to not provide workers with proper treatment, rights and adequate wages is wrong! Many sweatshop workers are forced to work obscene hours with no overtime pay in poor conditions with little to no breaks. Children are also at the brunt of this forced/unlawful labor. There is really no excuse for this type of business practice- especially since a majority of the companies in the hot seat have plenty of money and resources to operate with integrity. As far as I am concerned,
Wal-Mart is completely dead to me- there are so many accusations, charges and complaints made against this corporation. Enough to bar me from ever wanting to support that company ever again. I would rather spend a little extra money, but unfortunately, not everyone has the luxury to be picky where they shop because of their financial state themselves. But I know we can do better! It's time that we stop oppressing the poor so we can have the latest fashion trend. I suppose
Ecclesiastes was correct in its statement, "for much wisdom, comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief". Eccl. 1:18. The sacrifice we would make by not supporting these companies is minimal compared to the change we could actually create! Love you all! Here are some resources...
http://www.laborrights.org/creating-a-sweatfree-world/sweatshops/resources/12211
http://www.freethechildren.com/getinvolved/geteducated/childlabour.htm
http://www.globallabourrights.org/alerts
