Principles and Pocketbooks

Today, I read an article, How many U.S. schoolchildren will learn that 14 U.S. presidents trafficked and enslave people for profit?, that got me thinking. As I read the article, it became apparent to me that many of the Presidents mentioned in the article displayed a behavior that is still with us today: “I have Principles. Until I have to pay for them.”

Frankly, everyone I know displays this behavior, myself included.

I abhor unfair labor practices and believe that everyone deserves the dignity of a job that pays a living wage, but I shop at Walmart and eat at fast-food restaurants.

I know, based on scientific evidence, that Climate Change is real and most likely driven by human behavior, including carbon pollution, but I still drive a gas-fueled car and use an air conditioner in the summer.

I know that our food chain depends on the labor of people who are exploited and severely underpaid, but I continue to buy cheap food and produce, because I can stretch my small food budget farther.

I know that the inexpensive production of meat, eggs, and dairy products depend on inhumane, cruel and unhealthful farming practices, but I don’t buy local, humanely-raised and slaughtered meat, eggs, and dairy products.

I know that the pharmaceutical industry preys on the desperate and dying, charging thousands of dollars for relatively inexpensive life-saving medications and making research decisions based on possible profit, not the needs of the ill, but I still buy my prescriptions and support this corrupt industry.

I know that China is one of the leading nations in pollution, but I still buy products from China.

The truth is, when living on the margins (a fancy way of saying I am genuinely POOR), sometimes principles have to yield to the pocketbook.

But I don’t try to hide from reality, or pretend that I am not a hypocrite.

And there are some areas where principles can triumph over the pocketbook.

For me, that area is clothes. I know that most clothing is produced in factories staffed by exploited and under-paid laborers who are forced to work in unsafe conditions. Because of this, I do not buy new clothes. I am 1.5 years into this resolution, and I have suffered no lack. I buy clothes on the second-hand market and alter them as needed, I make new clothes myself, I repair what I already own. So far, my decision has been good for both my principles and my pocketbook.

Nonetheless, I am saddened by the fact that I simply can’t afford to correct all my behavior in this way.

Happily, I will be planting a garden again this year, and so will be able to depend less on food produced via the exploitation of the vulnerable. I also hope to add chickens to my life this year. Not sure if that will work out, but we’ll see.