The Big Mouth Of Our Wallets

When it comes to getting across causes of justice people often believe that there are strength in numbers which is true but in to the extent that we would like to believe. But then again maybe that is just because we are focusing upon the playing field of democracy when in reality the game is to be won or lost upon the field of capitalism. Therefore despite how many people one can gather in a rally to protest a certain injustice it will most likely fall upon deaf ears lest the political politicians hear and decide to take up the case for themselves within the government. Yet while shouts of outraged crowds often fall upon deaf ears; crowds of silent wallets roar every time they open their mouth to make way for paper money and plastic credit cards to exit. Consider the grave social injustice of economic slavery which exists in the use of sweatshops in third world countries so that people in the civilized world can have cheaply produced goods for less than their fair trade market value. Sweatshops work by creating social conditions that force people into jobs which pay below the livable wages with long hours and poor and often dangerous working conditions. Or in the terms of Biblical language its a living example of the rich exploiting the poor for financial gain, which is strongly condemened in both the Old Testament and New Testament. When it comes to sweatshops I am no expert but when the issue came up in a seminary class I took in the fall somebody who was more knowledge mentioned that virtually all underwear in the US was manufactured under sweatshop conditions. Shortly after that came up in class I talked my friend Laura Blauch who keeps up with social issues a lot better than I do to find out her thoughts on the issue. To my surprise she responded by saying that she would sponsor a “Go Commando For Jesus” day, which I found hilarious at the time and actually turned out to be a unique idea according to Google. Which in a way got me thinking of how far should one be obligated to go when it comes to opposing the oppression of sweatshops in the garment industry. So in a way if we were to get serious enough to set a date for a “Go Commando For Jesus” day to protest the sweatshop practices of the undergarment industry and get the word out to other Christians we could make a difference right? Actually in a way I’d doubt how much of an effort it would really have, as I’m fairly sure that the sweatshop issue to some extent would get lost in people laughing about not wearing underwear. Not to mention that most likely virtually everyone who took part in the anti sweatshop “Go Commando For Jesus” day would to back to wearing sweatshop underwear the next day. Later on in a follow up talk with Laura about the running “Go Commando For Jesus” joke, when I brought up the issue of how in a way the concept could have much larger of an impact if we were to make it a week or a month instead of a mere day. Given that a month would draw more attention and show that that the supports are more committed to the cause than a mere day. Laura seemed surprised at my idea asked me if I really want to go a month without underwear. I don’t mean to criticize Laura for her lack of commitment in viewing giving up underwear for a month as being too much but it goes to show where the real voice that brings change will come from. Yet this is the tricky matter as to my knowledge there is not a reliably source of “fair trade” underwear out there and very few people are willing to give up wearing underwear in the name of fair trade practices. Yet the same principal holds true to some extent with most economic related social justice issues. As a fair trade alternative will only exist if the companies of the garment industry believe that enough people are willing to speak up with their wallets in saying that they are willing to pay more for clothing if it comes with an assurance that buying it will not support exploiting others in the process. At the same time if anybody is committed enough to raising awareness to the cause by coordinating a “Go Commando For Jesus” month, go ahead and more power to you. Just please post a commend below to tell everybody about it as I’m sure others would like to hear about it.