Wednesday, April 15, 2009

struggling with what our culture demands of the rest of the world

I have never really been able to fully understand what living my lifestyle means to the rest of the world. What I am really doing by owning expensive electronics, buying third-world imports, and traveling to the third-world. In reality, I know that by doing those things I am supporting a system of exploitation and oppression. We, the West, are holding the head of the third-world under water. Not to the point that they drown but to the point that they are gasping for air and have no choice but to do what we ask of them.

So, I guess what I am really wondering is what does this mean for me. What should I do to work against this? Should I stop buying cameras whose parts are made in the third-world (which really means all cameras)? The answer to that question may very well be yes but fuck! if it is because I like cameras! I am of course being a bit facetious but still, a part of me does not want to stop living the life that I lead. I mean I already buy humanely whenever it's possible, i.e. when it's not too expensive or is available. The problem is that there are some things in this world, usually electronics, that are not produced without exploitation and oppression.

I suppose the questions that I have been building to for this whole post are "Am I doing as much as I can or is there more that I can do? and Should I be prepared to drastically change my lifestyle to do more? or even Should I feel the need to change my lifestyle (i.e. is the pressure on me to change or will me changing not even make a difference at all)? This is all a bit garbled but it may be the most important question in my life right now because, really, I do not want to lead a life that inhibits others from leading theirs.

Am I wasting my time by even worrying about this or should I be this concerned?
Here's a link to the set of pictures that got me started on this tangent and, yes, I know that this is not commonplace across the entire third-world.
http://www.zoriah.net/blog/2009/04/guest-photographerphotojournalist-gmb-akash-child-labor.html

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