EduClaytion

Doing “Small Things With Great Love”

SUMMER JUSTICE SERIES

PART 1: Do With Less

Can you do something today that will change the life of someone on the other side of the planet?  The choices we make everyday impact people–many of them desperately poor–all over the world.  We need to recognize the consequences that result from our decisions.  We may be the land of the free, but as Uncle Ben told Peter Parker, ”With great power comes great responsibility.” 

The world is changed one decision at a time.  Our focus here is often how to impact lives around us, but what about thousands in far away lands?  Many of us in the West see pictures and hear stories of poverty and hunger around the globe but feel helpless to do anything about it.  Throughout the summer, this site will look at ways we can help improve the lives of needy men, women, and children across the Earth. 

And we can start right now.

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Earlier this year, Relevant Magazine ran a piece by Texan author Julie Clawson which is based on her 2009 book Everyday Justice: The Global Impact of Our Daily Choices.  She has highlighted ways our lifestyles and purchases impact our neighbors around the world. 

The focus of this summer series is often called social justice, although I would call it The Golden Rule globalized.  Most of us decry suffering when we see it, but it’s easy to feel distanced from far away problems.  We may not be directly doing anything wrong or hurting anybody, but we’re often unaware of the price that’s paid elsewhere so that we can have great items at a low-cost.  As we’ll see, the cost is often higher than we’ve ever known.

Clawson covers some important issues.  Each week I’m going to expand on one of these.  If we can change the lives of people who are hurting by simply altering our daily habits yet don’t, do we become complicit in the suffering of others?  Knowledge is power but must be unleashed through action.  What can you do for “the least of these?”  There’s only one place to begin.

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Do with less.  Mark Twain called crazy spending habits “conspicuous consumption.”  Clawson says “Stop keeping up with the Joneses.”  Why do we need so much?

There’s nothing wrong with having nice things, but we are so dominated by possessions.  Many people feel they have to buy the newest stuff just because it exists even though they already have a perfectly fine car, gadget, or whatever.  We admire people like Gandhi and Jesus and Mother Teresa whose combined last will and testament consisted of nothing.  Somehow sacrifice and simplicity are woven into the ultimate human value of love. 

 Why do we desire so many things?  What is it about acquiring stuff that has driven our country to insane levels of debt?  The average credit card debt per household with such debt is over $15,000!

Just like the generations devastated by economic trauma in the Great Depression or the nasty inflation of the 1970s, Americans are now spending less and saving more in the aftermath of the 2008 cliff dive.  But history tells us that trend won’t last.  We’ll lick our wounds for a while, but eventually a scar will form and we’ll start overspending again to hide those old blemishes.

Maybe you’re not sure how our financial problems affect, say, poor Africans.  Consider Sub-Saharan Africa where 3 million babies already die every year before their 1st  birthday.  This article from the World Bank website says, 

“…as many as 50,000 infants likely lost their lives last year to the global financial crisis that began in the U.S.”

Families around the world feel the pinch like we do, but instead of cutting back on McDonald’s many of them do without doctor visits and healthy food.  Much of our economic crisis was connected to a housing disaster based on an insatiable need of millions to have bigger houses and nicer cars they couldn’t afford.

Issues like this make whining over democrats and republicans look ridiculous to me.  Imagine having to decide whether to let your little boy or baby girl starve to death.  Many third world nations value boys more, so the infant mortality rate is even higher among girls. 

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Now is a great time to establish new financial habits.  We could spend less and give more.  We can stop competing with each other in a never-ending cycle of one-upmanship.  A lifetime of acquiring things will never be fulfilling.  Making someone else’s life better is very fulfilling.  That’s what happens when we do without for the benefit of others. 

What’s your discretionary income look like?  Do you have an extra $10 or $25 a month?  Maybe one less movie or a couple less trips through the drive-thru?  Each of us is motivated by certain causes or injustices.  What stirs you to action?  There’s a ton of great organizations looking for anything you’ve got.  Blood:Water Mission is just one that I like.

Do some research and find something good to get behind.  Donate money, blood, organs, or even time!  Our planet experiences a lot of shortages, but one thing we will never see is a shortage of desperate people who need someone to care about them.  The world is changed one decision at a time.

Read PART 2: If Fair Trade A Farce?

 
Offer your favorite organizations, ways to help, or comments below. Connect with me on Twitter @eduClaytion

June 18, 2010 - Posted by educlaytion | Life, Politics