We are all consumers. Not only is shopping a national pastime, but consumption is at the very core of what holds our economy and society together. We cannot avoid it. Our current mode of consumption, however, is one in which we are not required to wonder where our products come from, who made them, and under what conditions. Many of us have been cultured to shop with only one of two goals in mind: to find the product with the lowest price or to go ahead and buy whatever might make us happy.
As I passed though streets that had been completely rebuilt from rubble on my way to Khao Lak, the area in Thailand that had been hit hardest by the Tsunami of December 26th, I received the first word that hurricane Katrina has decimated the cultural city of New Orleans.I remember sitting in the pickup truck thinking about how ironic it was to arrive here with the intention of taking part in the reconstruction effort, while my own country was facing the same threats and similar needs.I was tempted to cut my trip short and help my fellow Americans; however, as I spent more time in Thailand, and met these who’s house I was helping to rebuild, I realized that, although they spoke a different language and lived in a different culture, they were still just as human as any American.
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