It has gotten to the point where the things that happen in our tumultuous world don’t shock or surprise me anymore. Last week Bush not only mispronounced words while talking about children’s education, but he thinks Mandela is dead. No major surprise there.

But today when I learned about slavery being alive and well in the US, I actually was surprised. I’m not talking about getting an immigrant Mexican worker to fetch things, I’m talking about abducting people who have come from overseas and forcing them to do what they’re told for no pay. Real slavery.
Modern Day Slavery In The US

The shocking thing is that by simply buying food at large corporations like Macdonalds, we are supporting this! I’m not much of an activist because I don’t think that it solves the problem of individual moral bankruptcy that exists in the world. It’s a natural imbalance with a simple solution: If the greedy weren’t, those who are starving wouldn’t be. That’s how the world works, It’s a material problem that requires a spiritual solution, and that’s not the solution that is being utilized in the world.
But when you buy food at a resteraunt and don’t even realise that the company employs slaves because maybe they don’t even know, it makes it hard not to be unknowingly supporting this kind of injustice…

I mean, who has the time to track down and research every company and individual they are buying from? I’m not even going to start with that can of worms, I do what I can, and it costs me dearly, but I think it’s worth it. I guess that’s a good place to start, if it seems too cheap (Wal Mart) then it probably involves the violation of someone’s rights!

Here are some ways to do something about the slavery issue particularly, if you do want to act, from the man who wrote the book I first heard about this from: http://johnbowe.info/action.html

Or, if you prefer dealing with the root of a problem, not just using a band aid, here is a deeper explanation of how we need to change as individuals in order to solve these problems:
Sustainable Development and the Human Spirit

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