Perpetual Becoming
Paying Attention to the ProcessArchive for Change
A Race, A Birthday, and Where You Come In
If you’re a regular reader of Perpetual Becoming you know I’m running the Chicago Marathon this fall. The time is rapidly approaching (the race is on October 11th) – I can hardly believe it. If you want to read more about some of thoughts I’ve had along the way you can here or here.
I’m also using this race to help raise money for the humanitarian organization World Vision. Now, I want you to hear me on this. I’m under no delusions that running a race will solve all of the social injustices in Africa or anything of that nature (we talked more about this issue in Aid vs. Trade) – but I do think it’s a chance to leverage a challenge I’m undertaking and the resources represented by people like you and me (read wealthy compared to the majority of the planet) to support things like providing clean water to those who need it and feeding people who are hungry.
So, who doesn’t like a contest and/or a reason to be involved in something like this? I’ll answer for you, no one! That being the case, I’m going to give you one.
This Tuesday is my birthday, and for my birthday I would like you to consider sponsoring me to run the Chicago Marathon with a donation to World Vision. By the end of my birthday I would like to be well on the way or have met the fundraising goal of $1,000.
I’m going to put up the first $50 now and the last $50 when we make it to $1,000 – I think it’s only fair if I ask you to give that I give also. I’ve got 100’s of friends, family members, and acquaintances on Facebook, Twitter, and this site – all this would take is 18 of you to give $50 – let’s be honest most of us would never even feel that. So, please consider my entirely shameless request for a birthday gift and donate here.
Band-Aids
For several weeks now I have been unable to escape the thought that there can be some potential pitfalls to spending our time and energy only on “big” ideas. As I’ve written previously, I find those types of ideas inspiring and alluring, and I assume that they are pushing me towards great growth or contribution (or at least it feels as though they are). Honestly, I would love to take part in creating one some day. I also think we would all do well to realize that in and around these ideas there also exists a subversive force that distracts, and does so brilliantly.
Many great minds have written about this. If you’ve read sociologists like Malcolm Gladwell or business gurus like Seth Godin they are consistently beating this drum, urging us to consider the little things that can make a big difference, and that most big ideas didn’t necessarily start out that way. Gladwell has a brilliant example in his conclusion to the Tipping Point:
“[Band-Aids] should not be considered a term of disparagement. The Band-Aid is an inexpensive, convenient, and remarkably versatile solution to an astonishing array of problems. In their history, Band-Aids have probably allowed millions of people to keep working or playing tennis or cooking or walking when they would otherwise have had to stop.”
We resist that Band-Aid solution though don’t we? I know I do. There’s something in me that says this type of solution is not quite up to par. Gladwell goes on:
“The Band-Aid Solution is actually the best kind of solution because it involves solving a problem with the minimum amount of effort and time and cost. We have, of course, an instinctive disdain for this kind of solution because there is something in all of us that feels true answers to problems have to be comprehensive, that there is virtue in the dogged and indiscriminate application of effort, that slow and steady should win the race…something that is not always possible.”
I think a lot of us feel this tension when we come in contact with a problem like poverty – it was evident in our discussion two weeks ago. Sometimes in our quest to avoid putting a Band-Aid on something we set out with a solution that is not sustainable, or maybe worse we become so paralyzed we do nothing at all.
I had coffee with a friend last week and she was feeling this tension. We discussed the Aid vs. Trade idea, and she shared some ideas for addressing the poverty in her neighborhood and around the world. She also felt this pressure that her ideas were too simple, too relational, that she needed to come up with something that was seemingly more grandiose.
I am thinking more and more that perhaps Band-Aids have gotten a bad wrap. A simple, scaled idea doesn’t have to be synonymous with a cheap/worthless one. After all if you get a “boo-boo” what’s the first thing you’re checking your medicine cabinet for?
Aid vs. Trade
I’ve found that an important aspect of the ‘becoming’ process I love to talk about is the need to pursue other-centeredness – especially towards those who are impoverished or oppressed. The case could even be made that this is a selfish pursuit (although I think it is much more); I would bet that anyone who has engaged in helping or serving another has found it extremely formative and rewarding. I also think it’s a basic duty and joy of being a human being.
The title for this post was the title of a talk I had the privilege to hear from the founder and chairman of the company Good African Coffee last week. You can check out the site for the entire story of Good African, but Andrew Rugasira pleaded with the developed world to quit sending aid to developing nations (specifically African nations as that is his sphere of influence) and start fostering trade with these nations. He told the story of how trade creates a much deeper and more sustainable change in the lives of the impoverished. There was a related article looking towards the future of Africa in The Atlantic.
I have neither the time nor expertise to coherently summarize the ins and outs of combating poverty but I think this idea matters – both across the world and in our own backyards. Another organization that is living this concept is Kiva. They’ve focused their efforts on doing what Mr. Rugasira pleaded for in his talk, which was, “help people help themselves.”
In Chicago we have something called Streetwise. It’s a magazine that is staffed and sold by our homeless population. Andre is “my streetwise guy” – meaning he usually sells magazines near where I live. We have become friends; I support him by buying some magazines, and occasionally do a little more. My support for Andre (even though I’m buying a magazine) still feels largely like aid to me. I think he’ll be stuck in the cycle of selling those magazines (to the few people that will talk to him) without a chance to get a leg up somehow.
Aid is not inherently bad; we need to aid people in dire circumstances. In many situations this is where addressing problems has to start, people are sick, people are dying and they need help. There is clearly merit in providing for the basic necessities, but many times it isn’t addressing anything systemically. What if there were ways to leverage our resources of time, expertise, relationship, and yes money to do more?
There are many individuals and oranizations trying to do this very thing. That does not make it any less important for each of us to consider (if we aren’t already). I may continue this conversation in other posts, but for now a few questions:
First, and most basic, are there aspects of what you’re becoming that are other-centered? Do you see that as important or not?
As you look around your community (both immediate and your connections around the world), are there some ways you could foster the type of trade that could begin to build a systemic change? Are there ways you could even leverage the way you shop or other every day activities?
I’m dreaming about what this means for the hurting people in my spheres of influence, how about you?
*****
As a brief “P.S.” I should say I support and believe in the work of many great aid organizations like this one, or this one, among many others. They are heroes.
How Well Do You Know Your Food?
Last night my wife and I saw Food Inc. We had both read Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) and had some idea what we were in for – but not entirely. We walked out thinking it was the best 20 bucks and 93 minutes we had spent in awhile, and the rest of the evening entailed discussing it and what it meant for our lives.
The big idea is that many of us go through our days unaware that the decisions surrounding what we eat and how it gets produced are made for us…and we’re doing nothing about it.
By this point there isn’t a one of us that doesn’t realize a fast food cheeseburger is not exactly health food, but beyond health concerns did you realize there are human rights, environmental, and even legal issues at play? Our health is at stake, but if this documentary is right there’s even more to be concerned about.
One of the most poignant statements came from a farmer named Joel Salatin. Salatin said the thing that baffles him is how we (Americans and our food system) have managed to consistently hit the bull’s eye on the wrong target. We’ve mastered the processes in front of us without asking the questions surrounding the merits of doing so (in the case of corn). He went on to ask this question (paraphrasing), “If you begin to think of a pig as merely a collection of parts to be manipulated, it’s not a giant leap to imagine a world system in which all living things are thought of in that way – even human beings.”
My intent here was not to summarize the entire film or attempt an in-depth review, as there are many great reviews out there, some I’ve read are here, here, and here; neither is it my intent to fully endorse the film or all of it’s content – or ask you to do so blindly either.
The issues raised in Food Inc., are not ‘left’ or ‘right’, ‘conservative’ or ‘liberal’ – and I think the film raises them in a way that avoids politicizing them. It also manages to avoid painting a doomsday picture with no practical handles – we can do something. It’s about our food, we put this stuff in our bodies multiple times a day, and the system that makes it is letting us down.
Here’s what I am saying:
- Go see the film, take someone you know, or use it as a chance to get to know someone you don’t – and talk about it. Make up your own mind, but you need to engage this issue for yourself.
- Read up on the issue, check out Pollan, or the other star of the film Eric Shlosser (Fast Food Nation).
- Decide for yourself what you think, but be aware that as consumers we have tremendous voting power – Make your vote intentional.
How Would You Fix The World?
I’m not sure how many of you read The Atlantic, but I appreciate their commitment to creative thinking and the breadth and diversity of their contributors. I subscribe to a “preview” that comes digitally before the current issue hits stands, and it arrived yesterday. Under the “Ideas” section was a very creative collection of articles entitled 15 Ways to Fix The World – now that’s what I call an ambitious title! I encourage you to take a few minutes and skim through the articles; some are wacky, others a bit controversial, but all of them will make you think.
Some Highlights for Me:
In End The Vice Presidency Matthew Yglesias makes a compelling case for the inefficiencies and lack of necessity surrounding this current major political office in our country. I’m not certain if he’s right, but his argument seems to have merit and has me thinking.
If you shop at IKEA at all, you MUST read the article Buy To Last. This is a fascinating look at the real cost of discount consumer goods. I know that IKEA has furnished much of my apartment, but until now I had never considered the ramifications.
Tell The Truth About Colleges may have been my favorite out of the 15. Higher education, and education in general is sadly not always synonymous with learning. Here’s a teaser, “only 38 percent of graduating college students can successfully compare the viewpoints of two newspaper editorials…” There is a ton of great food for thought in this short piece.
Fixing the world certainly seems like a lofty goal. In fact in many ways it is probably unrealistic, and at the very least hard to define. What does fixing the world look like? How would we know when we had? That being said, I don’t think that disqualifies it as a worthy goal. There must certainly be ways in which we can fix, change, shape the world for the better – otherwise why get out of bed in the morning?
I’d love to hear what stood out from you in some of these articles. Which of these ideas do you think have merit? Are are they all pie-in-the-sky nonsense? Either way, tell us what you think, and why?
What other ideas do you have for “fixing the world”? It doesn’t have to be big, what wasn’t on this list that should have been?
How Well Do You Know Your Food: A Counterpoint
August 31, 2009 at 4:23 pm · Filed under Change, Commentary, Life, Society
Since there was some great discussion a few weeks ago on Perpetual Becoming around the documentary Food Inc, I thought it only appropriate to highlight a counterpoint that ran in the LA Times today. Charlotte Allen pulls no punches in her Op-Ed piece entitled “Keep Your Self-Righteous Fingers off my Processed Food.“
I heard Allen on NPR this morning discussing her column. Her counterpoint appeals to the the many financial benefits our current food system has provided consumers – especially in the current economic climate.
I’ll let her piece speak for itself, but I do think if you care about this issue you should read it, it will only add to your ability to consider these things from an additional perspective. And at the very least she has written a provocative and entertaining response.
After you’ve read it, chime in. Is there a place for Allen’s argument against some of what Pollan et. al. propose? Where do you agree with her? Where do you disagree?
Comments