reality bytes

society bugs me, a lot some days, although it didn't use to be that way. there was a time, when i was growing up that i thought all was right with the world. once i decided to go to college and further my education, things changed. i happened to enroll in a sociology 101 course to as part of my social science requirement, and wow. i changed my major the following semester from biology to sociology and i have never looked back. sociology studies have turned out to be a double-edged sword for me, a sort of bittersweet experience. i have gained a great deal of knowledge and learning about society and what is really going on. this has served to peel off the pretty embellished facade of our world, and revealed the ugly disheveled foundations beneath it. things are not great, they are not okay. for too long i have believed that and i have been in the dark. there is so much injustice in the world, so much inequality that it is depressing. this exists not only among people, but with the natural world too. we mistreat others and we mistreat our planet, both of which are going to lead to serious consequences for us all if it does not stop.

so what do we do, or more importantly what can i do? with the immense burden of injustice looming over us, i am thoroughly discouraged. how can i , just one person, do anything to make a change? how can i not at least try? i know now that there is a problem and i feel that i must do something, but what? i think that all we can do is what we are capable of. we must set attainable goals and be sure not to reach beyond our means. that would result in frustration and contempt i think. i have made up my mind to do what i can, i have participated in lectures and groups that share my goals and views on the present state of society. doing these things has made me feel useful and helped me to see that i can make at least a small difference in my area. i also talk to other people what i can and do my best to help them understand what is going on. we must spread the word about positive things we can all do, both in our private home life and in the public business world.

i know that lately businesses have caught on to the green movement and the organic movement. it seems that there is nothing that is good that cannot be twisted or tainted to serve the needs of capitalism and consumerism. they are now making more organic products and using more ecological manufacturing methods, but they are making you pay for it too. they have commodified organic and green products so that it can now be used to display your status. you obtain all of these products not for their positive and healthful benefits, but to show that you have the wealth to splurge on them. they are nothing to you but a means of showing off. while other people, due to a limited income, shop at places like wal-mart and get mass produced high-calorie, low-quality foods, you can go to a health food store or an organic market and buy your groceries. instead of saying "look at my mercedes and my rolex" they say "look at my solar panels and my electric car". i could go on and on about this, but i won't. i am sure you get the picture.

the worst part about all of the mass produced goods flooding our markets is the toll that they are taking on our world and its people. factories and production is outsourced to third world countries to exploit the cheap labor and lax regulations to maximize profits. the growth of mass production of mono-crops that has depleted our land and polluted our waterways with fertilizer runoff. these things have been going on for decades and will probably not end any time soon. all of these things are building up and building up, and i don't know how much more our mother earth can take. we need to spread the awareness of our earth and our connection to it and each other.

I'll end this entry by quoting a favorite passage of mine from the poet John Donne: "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."