united states currency seal – IMG_7366_web (Photo credit: kevindean)
We have become cannibals and the catalyst is commerce, just like the fruits of the conquest of Columbus we adorn our bodies with jewels pulled from the Earth with blood stained hands. The spoils of our conquest come to us in the form of gadgets and gifts, the sacrifice of human life laid upon the alter of consumerism. Much like the communion of Christians we too, the consumers of the Earth, consume of the body and blood of those sacrificed, which lay before us as pre-packaged and high priced goods. We give offerings of our labor in the form of currency in return for the spoils of unseen atrocities. We in the first world, enjoy consuming those luxuries which have been brought to us by the lives of those in the neighboring third world. We even go as far as to presumptuously relabel them as developing nations, because to assume some sort of rank troubles our hearts and we rather see them as having a chance of reaching our first world status instead of being condemned to poverty. But the Truth is much darker than that, because as we consume the products of their lives and labor, so too, do we consume their futures and dreams. We assume here in the west that since we have overcome one form of slavery, that there is not another waiting there in its place to tempt our hearts. Unfortunately, our story has not changed much over the course of time, only the scene and it’s characters.
Just as in the times that precede our own, rare goods and new technologies lie at the helm of our modern conquest. While we enjoy our diamonds, iphones and androids we forget or choose to be ignorant of the fact that those goods come to us upon the backs of human lives. Diamonds, one of our many spoils, are brought to us by royals and dynasties who employ the most unsavory of characters to force poor and downtrodden souls to slave at the cost of their lives in some cases, in order for us to adorn our bodies with the shine of their hard labor. Iphones and Androids like many of the toys of our time rely upon battery power that needs certain minerals, these minerals just so happen to come to us from poor countries and warzones the world over, including Afghanistan which is near and dear to our hearts here in the United States. How much of U.S. wars are a product of corporate conquest for cheaper prices of new technologies? We have become cannibals consuming the lives and dreams of the weak to further empower our own lives and dreams via rare goods and new technologies.
If we are to change the world, it will be to work towards a future that does not depend upon slavery and the greed of capitalistic conquest. If we are to overcome barbarism and truly become civilized creatures then we must lay to waste our hunger for more no matter the cost and consequence. We must work towards a future that is selfless and mindful of all involved, instead of being selfish and mindless consumers, that rather not be involved. The future is ours to shape but it is up to each of us to choose a path which protects as much as it produces. We must change the future of human history by being mindful of the people and practices we support and not merely succumbing to greed and selfish gain. We are the future, and those generations that follow us depend upon us to make a future that is greater than our own. So make a future you can be proud of and make choices that shine brighter than the spoils of modern conquest. Change the world…
Just. B.
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