Values

Where did our values go? Were they taken from us or did we willingly dispose of them? And why did we lose our values in the first place?

Generation by generation, we continually lose more and more of our values as a global society. We take more things for granted now than in the past because the access to excess is inflating faster than we can handle. Things that should be important to us - concern for our environment, for life, and for our future - are being shrugged off as flippantly as swatting a mosquito. We disassociate ourselves from group mentality long enough to overemphasize the importance of our individuality, then flop back when it suits us. The significance of this is staggering; it means we're indulgent to convenience. This indulgence results in ultimately determining the extent of our greed and what we are willing to compromise for the sake of personal comfort.

Take, for example, drive-through service. In the last ten years, the number of drive-through services has increased substantially. It used to be a few fast food restaurants that would offer this service, now it nearly establishes your existence in the marketplace. Everywhere I look, the line up at the drive-through window is longer than the line up inside the store. It goes without saying that drive-through service offers very little to civilization - indeed, it provides absolutely no benefit other than convenience - so why are so many people supporting it? Along similar parallels, the concept of the dollar store provides us with equal convenience but also no benefit. The majority of these products are produced by companies which are more than willing to exploit developing countries to make a profit. The economic principle of supply and demand dictates that by buying these products we are encouraging the companies to continue with their unethical business practices. This lack of ethics trickles down to the individual consumer who, aware of it or not, is part of the slave labour process. Both of these are examples of individuality conflicting with the well-being of the group, which helps explain why we gave away our values: mankind is inherently greedy.

So, finally, where did our values go? We put these values into every dollar we spend. When we shop at a multi-national company, we are putting value into the idea of globalization. When we shop at a company that uses sweatshop labour, we are putting value into the idea of human exploitation. When we shop using drive-through service, we are putting value into the idea of lethargy. Every time you choose to spend money, there are consequences. These consequences range from affecting the global community to affecting our own personal judgement, and they accumulate without restraint. Eventually you will reach a point when you question your choices as a consumer. You will be forced to choose between your greed and your guilt, and when you reach this point, ask yourself one simple question: what do you value?