Seeing a movie like, Blood Diamonds is enough to move anyone to rethink their views on Diamonds. I’ve posted other posters, facts and videos about it in the past as well. There’s a line in that movie that says something to about how when something becomes valuable people our oppressed. They said something much more eloquent. Today, I want to envision what might happen if tomorrow, like the Emperor’s new clothes, everyone realized Diamonds are just rocks, and overnight the diamond industry is over, not a single additional sale of shiny rock things, not for wedding rings, necklaces, grills, nothing.

Honestly, I think things would change extremely quickly. The flow of money into diamond galleries, diamond companies (De Beers), and the oppressive armies and regimes that enslave people to mine the diamonds would suddenly be gone. I’m not sure what would happen to the guys in suits who have lived lavishly off the diamond trade, they might be able to survive on their spoils from years past, but maybe they’ll find themselves head over heels in debt. I’d rather talk about the people in the mines.

Time and time again, when I talk about oppressive situations, be it sweatshops, diamond trade, child labor, etc. A common response is, well if ‘Walmart’ (insert other oppressive companies here) didn’t employ them, nobody would. And “25 cents an hour might not be great,but it’s better then nothing, besides it can buy you a lot more over ‘there.'” I think people use the justification a lot, and I have no doubt, it’s one of the reasons the realities of the diamond industry haven’t pricked more hearts.

If diamonds lost their value over night, somewhere around a million people would lose their ‘jobs’ mining diamonds. For some though, that ‘job’ was working as a slave for no pay and very little care for their well being; with the diamond industry gone, they would be free! The money used to fuel war in multiple countries from the diamond trade would also be gone. Oppressive regimes would need to find some other way to make money, or maybe, with the lack of a valuable commodity to fuel their greed and oppression, they would simply cease to exist.

What if all it took to end Slavery for hundreds and thousands of people in our world, was for us to stop attributing monetary value to shiny rocks?

Some how I haven’t written for the last week or so, and I don’t have the time this week to process any worthwhile thoughts either, so I thought I’d just highlight a few other blogs and maybe that would spur on some discussion. Here’s a couple clips worth checking out…

Life of Linne:

It seems strange what seeing $150 in your bank account can make you think. When I first saw, I thought “oi – we’re poor.” But we’re not poor. We don’t have a right to claim being poor at all. We have no idea what it really means to be poor.

I almost struggle with knowing what poor means. If we only had $150 and no paycheck coming next month… then maybe I’d have a sense of being poor. I have hope, though, because I know that money is coming. I don’t know what it feels like to not know when the next time we’ll have money is. College was only a few years ago… and yet have we been so “successful” that we’ve forgotten what it’s like to be struggling for money, having friends pay for dinner and being content with just what we already have?

I’ll be honest – I don’t want to be poor.

PeacefulVeganMom (Who some how manages to quote Jim Wallis in one blog post and me in the next; I’m honored):

Unfortunately, in our current culture, we have exemplified with our lifestyles that war is sometimes just, a child who hits others deserves to be hit, a man who kills others deserves to be killed, and when another country commits acts of violence against us, we should return that violence in kind. Why does the myth of redemptive violence run rampant in our hearts when Jesus clearly came to teach us there is another Way?

Where is the love and grace when we, as the wealthiest 20% of the world’s population, own and consume 80% of the world’s resources while the other 20% of the world live in utter poverty and despair? Where is the justice? What happened to the golden rule?? What are we teaching our children about the importance of compassion and the evil of the love of money??

iHajj:

As a church leader, I am very well aware that political conversations are dangerous. This is especially true in our current cultural setting where people are so divided between “red” and “blue.” I have no desire to politicize my church (as many other pastors have done). I want my church to be a place where people find their identity in Christ, not in their class, party, race, etc. I would never, for instance, even suggest which candidate a person should vote for, or what party they should support. Further, I don’t see that any politician or political party well represents my understanding of Christian political ideas.

All that said, it just seems that our government must hear the voice of Believers. For me, that means I am currently writing a personal political statement. Not a “red” or “blue” statement, but a statement of political values that I hold. I have also decided that I need to express some of these values on this blog. I am not interested in attacking any politician or party. However, I think there are issues that, as a Christian, I must speak about.

Last week for Corporate Responsibility Monday’s we talked about purchasing generic brand items over name brand when you were unsure of the ethics of the companies and their human rights history. I’ll encourage you to continue in that capacity but I want to take even another step away from Corporations and emphasize the value of buying second hand.

I know some people have an apprehension to buying used items, whether it’s clothes, kitchen items or toys, but I’ll just say right here, get over it. There are a few isolated unique situations were for sanitary health concerns or otherwise you need to buy new, but the vast majority of items can easily be used second hand. Here are three reasons why I think buying second hand whenever possible is the way to go.

1. It’s More Environmentally Friendly– No matter how ‘green’ your household items become, there is still production, packaging, shipping and more that is done to get them to you. The items you buy second hand have already gone through that stage and are ready to be loved a second time, packaging not included. Since most of the items that are in thrift stores got there by being picked up or dropped off as donations, the same amount or less of travel and energy that would have taken the items to a landfill, I’d argue that thrift store items have nearly a zero environmental impact (relative to new items).
2. It’s Cheaper. My goal is never to spend more money. If the product is good, fair trade, and environmentally sound, I’m willing to pay a higher premium, but I don’t go out and throw my cash around just because. Buying second hand will keep tons of money in your pocket, which you can then pass out to the valuable causes you wish to support. I would argue that shopping second hand rather then Target will save you 80% easily of what you would have paid if you bought things new (how do you like that ambiguous number?).
3. You Support Local Business. Isn’t it brilliant that we can create businesses and entire industries out of reusing products? Goodwill has some great billboards up around Nashville lately that say, “When you give it to Goodwill, you give me a job.” They speak to the very practical impact thrift stores have. Supporting Goodwill and Salvation Army, among other local businesses, is a way to create a sustainable world beyond a charity check or donation.

Get over yourself and start shopping at the Thrift Store. Find some bargain duds and empty your closet of the things you don’t need at the donation center while you there. Take the money you saved by not buying new and take a person without a home out to eat. Give Target your business when your looking for toothpaste and TP, thank them for their services and tell them you’ll be back in a month or two, maybe.

This is Mindy’s first mother’s day as a mom. Carrying around a human being in your body for 8 months definitely qualifies you to be celebrated (changing diapers, screaming babies, and all that comes next certainly isn’t a walk in the park either). I’ve had the chance to be around some amazing mothers, so I feel shout outs are in order.

Mindy- The first inklings of love I ever had for my (now) wife were when I saw her playing with kids. She’s such a natural loving and caring person and I distinctly remember thinking I wanted those qualities in a wife; I got exactly what I wanted! It’s amazing to behold this reality and I am honored and forever grateful for the opportunity to raise children with my beautiful wife.

My Mom- I’ve waxed eloquently before about my mom, so here’s an additional bit of love. As I think about all the ins and outs of raising my own children, I continually look back and see how my mom has loved and raised me, she’s a solid example of what it takes day in and day out to selflessly raise children. I think I turned out okay don’t you? For real proof my mom is amazing you just have to meet my brother and sister.

Mindy’s Mom- I can’t possibly say thank you enough to those that have been a part of Mindy’s life, her mother is no exception. From putzing in the kitchen to counting out mints for Christmas stockings, Mindy’s mom has been a joyous addition to my life and a stable foundation from which Mindy has been able to flourish. She’s raised a beautiful daughter that I am touched and honored to have the opportunity to share a life with.

Dawn- For the past year, I’ve had the joyous (and I truly mean joyous) opportunity to share daily life with a family who have become our family. As the mystery of parenthood approaches I, unlike the vast majority of guys entering fatherhood, have had the opportunity to practically have a practice run at seeing life with children. Dawn has been a wonderful example and a kind friend to have opened such a cherished part of family life to Mindy and I.

And in case you thought the shout outs were over, there’s room for three more minutes of fun. This goes out to all you folks, young and old, who have mothers…

We had huge potential. I heard about Podcasting in some obscure tech magazine or forum or something, before Apple had even heard of it, and Adam Curry was the only one doing it. I already had a nice microphone an something to record with cause I liked audio. My wife and I were sharing our apartment with our good friend, Zach, in Wheaton, the last semester of our senior year of college. I was trying to sell Zach on the idea that we should be podcasting. He’s funny, smart, witty, and I can press record. Needless to say, in the spring of 2005 in didn’t happen. We could have been famous.

Okay, maybe that was a pipe-dream and we never would have had even a couple minutes of fame. But we did stat podcasting. We jumped on the bandwagon in December of 2005 and did it mostly cause we wanted to. Zach and I were calling each other from different states, but it’s been fun to do. As you know, the podcast isn’t really running these days. We lost steam, but for those who are interested there’s plenty of archived files around.

Today I’ll just leave you with the audio and a link to the post. Enjoy.

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A while ago I talked about police abusing their power. I think we have a tendency to think this usually happens in isolated incidents with “bad apples,” but I think it speaks to a much deeper problem. I think it has a lot to do with how we as humans act when given physical power and control over others.

What I’d like to discuss and hear from you are stories, first hand or ones you’ve heard from others first hand accounts, of police abusing their power. Anything from discriminate traffic stops to beatings is acceptable to share. And with that I would love to hear your thoughts on whether the incident was one were you felt it was specific to that unique officer or something that you think many in that officers situation might do.

Discuss away!