I am so confused!!! What is Cesar's? What is God's? Some things are obvious, but most things are subtle and difficult to decide. The Gospel this past Sunday not only brought up the question of "Death and Taxes" but also the question of social justice for me. (maybe not for you, but my mind jumps all over the place!)
I read an article on the internet by Mike Daisey that says Apple products are made in sweatshops overseas and that threw me for a loop. Do I stop buying Apple products? Do I rationalize this by saying that these sweatshop employees at least have jobs and are probably happy for the opportunity to earn money? Do I lobby Apple to shut down their production overseas, bring it here to America and then not be able to buy their products because the price would be too astronomical? Then do I (and those like me...) run the risk by my 'good intentions' of causing Apple to lose so much money that they have to close, thus putting everyone out of a job? When Jesus was confronted with beggars outside of the synagogue did He find them a place to sleep, a meal, and get them a job? How far do I go? I am linked to so many corporate entities in my daily existence that it seems impossible for me to keep track of or even discover which ones are socially just and which aren't. While that doesn't give me a 'pass' to throw up my hands and say, "Corporate exploitation will always be with us..." it does call me to try to educate myself and see if I can push for a socially just change. Perhaps I can write to Apple and ask them to consider improving conditions in their overseas factories. The confusion continues...
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