Mary Beth Danielson judges American and Ukrainian values based on recent events--Ukrainians protesting election fraud, and lower than expected sales at WM:
I think these two stories lay out a hard question.[Emphasis added]Which nation is stronger? The one with so many shopping choices we can't see straight? Or the one where hundreds of thousands of educated citizens took to the streets to forcefully, non-violently, and resolutely demand the one clear choice they made? There's no simple answer, but I think the question is worth asking...
I've bought one present so far this season, a plastic toy for my toddler nephew. I bought it at a store whose corporate offices are in a city far from here - and the toy was made in China. Exactly HOW does this purchase make our nation and community a more robust place to live? By employing the clerks and stockers at the store who earn less than $10 per hour and have sparse benefits? By making richer the people who own stocks? Are stockholders, in general, the kind of people who will flood city streets to demand reform when reform is needed? You know what I wonder? I want to know how to foster citizens as brave, committed and empowered as the citizens of Ukraine. (If someone wants to buy me a ticket to Ukraine, I'll go ask them how they do it.) I think the key lies somewhere in the work and power of choosing....
Do we want our teenagers to spend their energy choosing among 17 kinds of shampoo? Or do we want them to know the difference between capitalism and democracy, that the two things are not the same?
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Posted by Kevin on December, 4 2004 at 10:13 AM
