All this research for school projects has left me wondering if there is any way to do the right thing. It seems like every issue I research leads me to something I need to change in my life. But if I change it, could that cause a different problem. Am I just overthinking again? Most likely.
For instance, take forced labor and ‘sweatshops’. If we want to stop this, we should not buy the cheap clothing or other items that are produced using these laborers. On the other hand, if we stop buying, that doesn’t necessarily mean the work environments will improve, it might just put the people out of work that rely on that income, no matter how meager.
Then I have a crisis of conscious. Am I creating a reason to continue to buy cheap merchandise just because I don’t want to give it up or do I really care about the workers and want to try to find a way to help. I would love to say it’s totally altruistic, but if I’m being honest, who doesn’t love a bargain?
Another example is ‘The Water Crisis’. I didn’t even know this existed. At first, I was disgusted to learn that giant water companies are going to poverty stricken countries to extract water from their land, when on the other side of the fence are people who do not have access to clean drinking water. It’s appalling. But then again, if those companies weren’t there, they wouldn’t be able to employ the local people and they wouldn’t be able to take home the two bottles of water they are allowed per day. Am I second guessing because I don’t want to give up bottled water? It’s so convenient.
Can’t there be a middle ground? Can’t these companies run their businesses and at the same time, help the communities that are suffering. But on the other hand, it’s not my business to tell them what to do with their money. I don’t want them telling me what to do with mine.
This is just one of the fun ways I drive myself crazy every day.
Starting Over Again....for the Last Time 
Perhaps a few quotes regarding the South African (and Israeli) apartheid will help you decide whether or not to buy sweatshop goods:
“Those who invest in South Africa should not think they are doing us a favor; they are here for what they get out of our cheap and abundant labor, and they should know that they are buttressing one of the most vicious systems.” – Desmond Tutu
“Those who continue to do business with Israel, who contribute to a sense of ‘normalcy’ in Israeli society, are doing the people of Israel and Palestine a disservice. They are contributing to the perpetuation of a profoundly unjust status quo.” – Desmond Tutu
“Just as we argued in the 1980s that those who conducted business with Apartheid South Africa were aiding and abetting an immoral system, today we say no one should profit from the rising temperatures, seas, and human suffering caused by the burning of fossil fuels. We can no longer continue feeding our addiction to fossil fuels as if there is no tomorrow. For there will be no tomorrow.” – Desmond Tutu
If we can believe Desmond Tutu, buying sweatshop goods is “aiding and abetting an immoral system.”
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Those are fantastic quotes. You found someone who, I believe, we can accept as a very reputable source. Thank you so much for the time and effort you have put into this. I really appreciate it.
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