I have decided to personally boycott corporations (as much as possible) in an effort to “be the change I wish to see in this world.” Since moving to San Francisco to study philosophy and consciousness, I have been called on more than one occasion to learn about and understand the current issues we face on this planet, namely the environmental destruction. I have been struggling with trying to figure out what I can do to make the most positive impact…and my thoughts have constantly been around awakening everyone else to the issue. Although a noble task, I realized that’s not what I’m needed to do. I’ve decided that I can wish for universal awakening until the day I die, but if I consider myself currently “awake” and haven’t made any changes in my own life, why should I expect anyone else to? That being said, I’m no longer buying products first hand (except underwear…and razors…that would just be gross to buy used). Everything else will be purchased used, or at second hand stores, or if I really need something new I will buy it from a local business (preferably a co-op). I no longer own a car and am lucky enough to live in a city that doesn’t require heating or cooling of my apartment, so I’m only purchasing oil when I need a zip car.
Maybe some of you are wondering why I’m being so intense about this…or why I’m doing this at all. So, here are a few excerpts from a current book I’m reading: “Blessed Unrest,” by Paul Hawken. This is just a light overview of the problems we currently face, but choose to ignore.
“Most of the world’s economies and governments are under the control of corporations, which seem to be successfully tightening their grasp; at the same time the world itself is increasingly out of control. The corporatization of the world means the loss of economic and cultural diversity. Historian Arnold Toynbee cautioned that civilization is a movement, not a condition, and the rise of uniformity consistently marks its decline.” -Paul Hawken
“The United States has the worst social record of any developed country in the world, and it is worse than that of many developing countries. By almost any measure of well-being, the United States brings up the rear: It is number one in prison population (726 prison inmates per 100,000 people vs. 91 in France and 58 in Japan); first in teen pregnancies, drug use, child hunger, poverty, illiteracy, obesity, diabetes, use of antidepressants, income disparity, violence, firearms death, military spending, hazardous waste production, recorded rapes, and the poor quality of its schools. (The United States is the only country in the world besides Iraq where schools need metal detectors).” -Paul Hawken
“If we measure western culture by how it has treated people of different ethnicity and race, it is anathema. If we judge it by the treatment of its own people, including children, the elderly, and the poor, it is an embarrassment. And if we try to calibrate American superiority by its treatment of the environment, the United States is one of the least intelligent civilizations in the history of the planet.”
-Paul Hawken
“The Earth is not dying—it is being killed. And the people who are killing it have names and addresses.” -U. Utah Phillips
“One’s tax, or one’s consumer dollar does not simply disappear into the coffers of a faraway government or a spectral corporation; it funds acts that may be immoral, and the funder must therefore acknowledge his/her role as an accomplice.” –Evan Carton
I believe there is a better way to live on this planet that is better for everyone and not just the rich and powerful few. I don’t have all the answers as to how to make it better or even what should be done…but in the meantime I refuse to support disgustingly rich men and women get richer when I am struggling, my family and friends are struggling, people around the world are struggling. The easiest way to change our world is to protest the institutions that are destroying it, i.e. the corporations. There’s a saying in the consumer world that every day people vote, they vote with their dollars…so I vote for life, for sustainability, for equality, for the right of every individual on this planet to express life, liberty, and happiness in a clean environment. This is why I am no longer buying first hand goods/products, or using a car for the majority of my transportation. I believe we can demand a better way by not engaging in the current one.
“Inspiration is not garnered from the recitation of what is flawed; it resides, rather, in humanity’s willingness to restore, redress, reform, rebuild, recover, re-imagine, and reconsider.” -Paul Hawken
If any of you feel inspired to join me in this boycott, this protest, this “Great Turning” movement then let me know. If you don’t wish to join me that is ok too, but I ask that you don’t buy me any first hand products/clothes/trinkets/etc even as gifts. They will be donated to those less fortunate.
Thanks for reading and thanks for your help.
