Rant

I'm going to deviate here for a second to talk about a few things that woke me up with a burning fire of frustration. A frustration of modern culture and “awareness” campaigns, let's first start with modern culture and modern economics (whether they be Keynsian or Friedman). Economics preaching ever expanding production and growth in a world of limited resources, working to accumulate as much as possible in the name of progress. As summed up by E.F. Schumacher:

“That soul-destroying, meaningless, mechanical, monotonous, moronic work is an insult to human nature which must necessarily and inevitably produce either escapism or aggression, and that no amount of "bread and circuses" can compensate for the damage done – these are facts which are neither denied nor acknowledged but are met with an unbreakable conspiracy of silence – because to deny them would be too obviously absurd and to acknowledge them would condemn the central preoccupation of modern society as a crime against humanity.”

We are seeing it played out day after day in interpersonal relationships to international relations, the struggle to dominate resources: land, oil, minerals, labor, attention, time, publicity, beauty, fame, love(lust).

This perceived accumulation of progress is actually destroying our civilization as it is demoralizing and dehumanizing our culture with its costing of our basic dignity and spirituality. The extremes of which I see in the States where everything has its price, and in Africa where poverty is so rampant that cost is almost an alien thing, at least in the sense of the intangible, such as “time is money”.

Lest you think I am an ant-capitalist communist sympathizer I am 100% for social capitalism, or third wave economics, or triple bottom line business. In fact I am devoting my life to see its adoption globally. We CAN value our lives appropriately. I am here in Africa and yes I want to develop business, jobs, manufacturing, resources used for creation of goods, but I'm trying to do it in a way that is responsible to the future generations and current populations. Again Schumacher:

…one of the most fateful errors of our age is the belief that the problem of production has been solved. The illusion…is mainly due to our inability to recognize that the modern industrial system, with all its intellectual sophistication, consumes the very basis on which it has been erected. To use the language of the economist, it lives on irreplaceable capital which it cheerfully treats as income.

And what is my case? Simply that our most important task is to get off our present collision course. And who is there to tackle such a task? I think every one of us, whether old or young, powerful or powerless, rich or poor, influential or un-influential...

…it is not a question of choosing between "modern growth" and "traditional stagnation." It is a question of finding the right path of development, the Middle Way between materialist heedlessness and traditionalist immobility…

To talk about the future is useful only if it leads to action now. “

The second frustration is “awareness campaigns.” Who hasn't heard their mother either say in seriousness or you're friends say in jest, “clear your plate, remember the starving kids in Africa!” We are aware of tragedy, we are aware of poverty, we are aware of injustice, in fact we have been so bombarded by incessant “awareness” campaigns that we have become desensitized to them. Awareness without direct ties to action are a waste of time and money, in my opinion they are there to glorify the creator of the campaign instead of tying awareness directly to help on the ground.

There ARE companies fighting this, examples include 147 Million Orphans, Tom's shoes, Pophetik clothing, Patagonia, and Oliberte. Channeling direct assistance to those in need through sustainable for profit business models. Awareness is also proven on the ground as countless NGO's, CBOs, Development Organizations, NPO's, SACCO's, microfinance institutions, churches (Amazima Ministries), and schools are all here WORKING on the ground. Why not stop being aware of nebulous things like “poverty”, “hunger”, and “aids” and become aware of the organizations that are fighting those ills on the ground. Take action, donate money not to an awareness campaign, but directly to an organization on the ground. Stop making movies and books about the problems, take action, open your wallet, quit your job, realize a moral, spiritual, and human duty to give up materialistic wants (not needs) and do something, we are well aware of what there is to do but what do we fear in doing so?

For my Christian brothers and sisters living the high life I'll throw in the obligatory quotes we hear time and time again but do we take action?

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." -Matthew 6:24

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.'" -Matthew 19:23-24

"Jesus answered, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.'" -Matthew 19:21

And I leave you with my favorite joke about Bono (published academic journal article of why the (RED) campaign is detrimental after the jump), the ultimate mega money awareness guru:

“At a U2 concert in Ireland , Bono (the lead singer) asks the audience for some quiet. Then he starts to slowly clap his hands. Holding the audience in total silence, he says into the microphone...."I want you to think about something. Every time I clap my hands, a child in Africa dies."

A voice from the front of the audience yells out...."Then stop clapping, ya asshole!"