today, the 21st March, marks Human Rights Day in South Africa. yesterday was the official beginning of Spring...and in Germany we were able to witness a partial solar eclipse.
what do all three of these events have in common? allow me to explain...
for some time now, I've wondered why the world does not follow the law of logic. this morning, i read an article in a German magazine dedicated to explaining how supermarkets employ tricks to fool the consumer. the majority of the population realises what the supermarkets do, but they still fall for the tricks. it makes no sense whatsoever. It's as if our mind has an internal battle and by the end, it just gives up.
let me give you an example: the article mentions how supermarkets make use of the '0,99 cent' rule. apparently, when people see an item for €2,99, their mind will round it down to €2 instead of the clearly obvious €3. What?!?!?
it follows that, according to this example, the majority of the educated society are useless and succumb to a ridiculous mind-game. what was the point of learning mathematics if this example applies to even just 5 out of 10 consumers?
i mention this, because recently i've re-considered the absurdity of world economics: 1 + 1 does not equal 2. if that were the case, all food would be distributed evenly and nobody would starve to death...there is more than enough to go around.
which brings me to the idea of a 'human rights day'. who decided what rights we have? i think the most important right humans have is not to be lied to on a daily basis. but this right is continuously violated. surely, our way of life, unbeknownst to us, is affected by these many lies. in regard to our consumer culture, do we really know the full truth?
Where does this product come from?...Was it really fair-trade?...Did somebody have to die so that I can eat this?...Is it really worth this much money?... etc.
only last night, a friend working in the coffee industry told me that Germany is one of the few countries with a coffee tax. per kg, you pay €2,19 coffee tax! ...oh, so now you might say: it's not a lie when you don't know about it! so it is my fault as an ignorant consumer, right?
the Truth is: we're happy to be lied to. those who really want to know the truth about, say, consumer products, will have to go to great lengths in order to find their answers. moral principles, unfortunately, have no place in a capitalist-driven system. therefore, we're all hypocrites. walking, eating, and defecating contradictions. we say or believe one thing, then go ahead and do the opposite. most of this is completely unintentional! being a conscious consumer requires hard work. and due to most us already doing hard work earning money, we're too lazy and tired to invest our energy in "doing the right thing".
with the beginning of spring, I personally feel hopeful that the next generation will question the way of the world. And counter-act the lies thrown at them by governments and corporate companies. They must come to see the truth behind who really runs the world - guard their souls from being prostituted and their hearts from being corrupted. More and more people no longer want to be blind and engage in the fight for true human rights.
another right we have is to preserve (and enjoy) the riches of this planet. since the industrial revolution, certain rights were taken from the general population. our right to own a piece of land, for instance. that is a luxury hardly anybody can afford. in addition, an elite is in charge of the (natural) resources of our planet. we make those people richer, because we are forced to buy certain materials. take petrol as an example. if you dig into this topic, you'd be overwhelmed with concern for our planet's state. there's over-fishing, over-forestation, over-consumption...it's like we're on a see-saw with that over-weight child. we just sit there and watch him enjoying the view from above. the one thing we can do is get off the see-saw and see him heavily plunge back down to earth.
this earth belongs to you and i. it was entrusted to us. we marvel at the greatness of the universe and watch the solar eclipse. we explore the vast space above our heads, without looking down towards the ground we tread on. the footsteps each one of us takes are more vital than counting the stars. we're privileged to roam this planet and shouldn't take it for granted. the enemy we face is the one who destroys morality - that hard drive we're all born with to distinguish between right and wrong.
on this first Spring Saturday, let's reflect on our human rights and remember the awesomeness of this world, despite its many flaws. we're in this together. we all watch the sun come up in the morning and go down at night. as long as that happens, we're all fighting on the same side.
i leave you with a beautiful quote by the founder of the Methodist church, John Wesley:
what do all three of these events have in common? allow me to explain...
for some time now, I've wondered why the world does not follow the law of logic. this morning, i read an article in a German magazine dedicated to explaining how supermarkets employ tricks to fool the consumer. the majority of the population realises what the supermarkets do, but they still fall for the tricks. it makes no sense whatsoever. It's as if our mind has an internal battle and by the end, it just gives up.
let me give you an example: the article mentions how supermarkets make use of the '0,99 cent' rule. apparently, when people see an item for €2,99, their mind will round it down to €2 instead of the clearly obvious €3. What?!?!?
it follows that, according to this example, the majority of the educated society are useless and succumb to a ridiculous mind-game. what was the point of learning mathematics if this example applies to even just 5 out of 10 consumers?
i mention this, because recently i've re-considered the absurdity of world economics: 1 + 1 does not equal 2. if that were the case, all food would be distributed evenly and nobody would starve to death...there is more than enough to go around.
which brings me to the idea of a 'human rights day'. who decided what rights we have? i think the most important right humans have is not to be lied to on a daily basis. but this right is continuously violated. surely, our way of life, unbeknownst to us, is affected by these many lies. in regard to our consumer culture, do we really know the full truth?
Where does this product come from?...Was it really fair-trade?...Did somebody have to die so that I can eat this?...Is it really worth this much money?... etc.
only last night, a friend working in the coffee industry told me that Germany is one of the few countries with a coffee tax. per kg, you pay €2,19 coffee tax! ...oh, so now you might say: it's not a lie when you don't know about it! so it is my fault as an ignorant consumer, right?
the Truth is: we're happy to be lied to. those who really want to know the truth about, say, consumer products, will have to go to great lengths in order to find their answers. moral principles, unfortunately, have no place in a capitalist-driven system. therefore, we're all hypocrites. walking, eating, and defecating contradictions. we say or believe one thing, then go ahead and do the opposite. most of this is completely unintentional! being a conscious consumer requires hard work. and due to most us already doing hard work earning money, we're too lazy and tired to invest our energy in "doing the right thing".
with the beginning of spring, I personally feel hopeful that the next generation will question the way of the world. And counter-act the lies thrown at them by governments and corporate companies. They must come to see the truth behind who really runs the world - guard their souls from being prostituted and their hearts from being corrupted. More and more people no longer want to be blind and engage in the fight for true human rights.
another right we have is to preserve (and enjoy) the riches of this planet. since the industrial revolution, certain rights were taken from the general population. our right to own a piece of land, for instance. that is a luxury hardly anybody can afford. in addition, an elite is in charge of the (natural) resources of our planet. we make those people richer, because we are forced to buy certain materials. take petrol as an example. if you dig into this topic, you'd be overwhelmed with concern for our planet's state. there's over-fishing, over-forestation, over-consumption...it's like we're on a see-saw with that over-weight child. we just sit there and watch him enjoying the view from above. the one thing we can do is get off the see-saw and see him heavily plunge back down to earth.
this earth belongs to you and i. it was entrusted to us. we marvel at the greatness of the universe and watch the solar eclipse. we explore the vast space above our heads, without looking down towards the ground we tread on. the footsteps each one of us takes are more vital than counting the stars. we're privileged to roam this planet and shouldn't take it for granted. the enemy we face is the one who destroys morality - that hard drive we're all born with to distinguish between right and wrong.
on this first Spring Saturday, let's reflect on our human rights and remember the awesomeness of this world, despite its many flaws. we're in this together. we all watch the sun come up in the morning and go down at night. as long as that happens, we're all fighting on the same side.
i leave you with a beautiful quote by the founder of the Methodist church, John Wesley:
