one of those free preview of cable premium channels just ended. i love to see what's on those other channels even though there's usually nothing too spectacular. i just hate how i never know about the free preview until the end of the run. this time i was lucky though and got to watch a couple good films, including something that had been in my netflix queue. we watched "the corporation" and it was damn good. at first it was slow because it went over the history of how corporations came into being. it was necessary but so damn boring that i almost changed the channel. good thing i stuck with it because it quickly became a very interesting piece about factories abroad that are modern day versions of slavery. the film showed examples of big american companies that manufacture their goods overseas for minimal cost and sell them back home for maximum profit, (i.e., nike shirts produced every 6.6 seconds and paying the factory worker $0.03 per shirt). it was a slap in the face reminder of how terrible consumerism can be without ethical responsibility. that leads to the question of what is the alternative, how do we avoid this and engage in fair practice? that is beyond the scope of the film. the film is a wake up call--it's simply the messenger and making people aware or reminding them of the situation.

for me, this sort of things were too overwhelming of a problem. too great for an individual to remedy so i did nothing to help. i didn't do my part. now that i'm vegan, and even though i made the choice for health reasons, the more political and compassionate reasons that are related to veganism have begun to seep into my value system. i simply need to take more action and do my part. it can feel impossible to successfully consume only that which has not harmed and is not harming humans, animals, and the earth but there are those out there who try. they do their part and i should do mine. for me that means to stop buying new products whenever possibly and trying to acquire things used such as from thrift shops whenever possible, especially thrift shops whose proceeds benefit the community in some way. the hardest thing for me will always be transportation. that will always be my biggest issue.