These videoes really bring an awareness of this.“Being caught up in our daily concerns, we often fail to see and appreciate all of our connections to others-to those who make our clothes, grow our food, clean up our messes, pay for the schools we use, use the schools we pay for, benefit or suffer from actions by politicians we elect, look to us as examples, and so on. Sociological mindfulness helps us see these threads of social life and how they sustain and obligate us. The main benefit of this awareness is that it can make us more responsible members of a human community”
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Your Tshirt and sociological Mindfulness
Below are two videoes from upworthy about where our shirts are made. We often don't think about the people who make our shirts and how our purchases impact them, but this video really makes us aware of where our shirts come from and the people involved in that process. In his book The Sociologically Examined Life Michael Schwalbe writes
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The lessons that I draw from these two videos are humanity is an idea that exists globally.
ReplyDeleteWatching the video about Jasmine in Bangladesh, reminded me of my time when I traveled to Uttar Pradesh India. Upon arriving there I met a man who owned a sweat shop, he was proud of it and wanted my help in his future business endeavors. I wanted no part of it, because of the conditions of the building, and the low pay, he paid his employees much like Jasmine. I was reminded by my friend that the jobs he offers, no matter how awful they are, are jobs that many people in India rely upon. This is terribly sad, but true because without having any work at all they would starve.
Many people from third world countries like Bangladesh and India live hand to fist, with the terrible fear of starving. I can remember from while in India, upon visiting homes there, my friend would tell me, I know these people have gone without food. I thought to myself, “how could that be!” I knew that the obligation that I had to the people there was huge. The sacrifices I would need to make to help give back to the families in 3rd world countries are nothing, compared to the sacrifices they make to eat every day.
I can remember when visiting my friend's sister, there was a girl there around 9 years old, she was cleaning in her mom’s absence, who was not able to work that day because her back had gone out. The amount of work the little girl had to do was beyond me. I told my friend's sister that I wanted the little girl to sit with me so I could teach her English and that I would clean my own clothes, but I didn’t want her to clean my clothes for me.
I agree with author Michael Schwalbes book, The Sociological Examined Life. where he talks about sociological mindfulness, and how noticing the thread of other people's life, helps sustain and obligates us. I honestly believe when we understand the significance of one’s choices, the sacrifices they make, and the struggle they are up against, we can truly allow ourselves to feel obligated to make a difference in their lives.
Let's look at the idea of COVID 19, there are many ways I could apply sociological mindfulness to the pandemic. I could educate myself about what the virus is, and how to protect me and my family from it. I could donate my time as well as money to nonprofit organizations that are helping victims of COVID. I could choose to be vaccinated against the virus, regardless of being vaccinated or not. I could always wear a mask in public places. These are just some of the ways I could imply sociological mindfulness to the panademic.