Thursday, February 3, 2011

Ethically Speaking #3

The latest ethical dilemma I have presented to my students does not involve anything dramatic as the choice between two children or the surrender of one's life for another. Rather, it tackles the day to day areas of our lives that are governed by choices we often make without thinking twice. I posed to them the follow question:

Each day Americans purchase countless goods that are manufactured overseas. These goods are made by people who make far less than any worker in the United States. In many cases the conditions in which they work are deplorable and nothing that our laws would allow here (in theory). However, though we know that these abuses of human rights occur we still purchase the products. Are we in violation of our ethics? Why of why not? What should our course of action be in relation to the personal cost and difficulty in may involve?

The question is simple but the issues it raises are anything but. I will not lie. I am a hypocrite. I knowing consume goods that were created in places where the conditions are as such that I would not to work there or have my children work there. I give the example of Apple Inc.  The issues surrounding workers and suicide are well documented at the factories in China that churn out Iphones, Ipads, and other electronics. But this knowledge has not deterred me enough. Why?

My theory is that the distance from the factory to my hands is too great geographically and conceptually for me to make the connection that it wasn't some faceless and anonymous worker who made this product but rather a human being with a soul. The close I make the connection the harder it becomes for me to allow the exploitation.

But let's separate foreign made goods from the equation. Abuses are occurring here in our own backyard. Think of all the migrant workers who earn barely enough to feed themselves and their families after working 15 hour days. Are they being treated justly? Is our motivation for lack of action based on how much we pay for orange juice?

In the end our values must be in sync with the core of what it means to be Christian. We are thoroughly intertwined with this world. We have let it embed itself into our everyday life. But we are not of this world. Rather, we have been sent back into the world to change it for the better. Could we resolve to consume more responsibly? I'm not sure but I like to think that we could try a little a time to influence those around us, our elected officials and others. The irony that I am typing this blog post on a computer made by possibly exploited workers is not lost on me. Instead it saddens me and reminds that no matter how little the issue may seem, if it affects someone then it should concern all of us.

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