Pretenders or Genuine Care?
Lately, I noticed something very strange happening. It seems as if more and more people are claiming to want to do something about Human Trafficking. Nobody at my high school wanted anything to in dealing with the Sex Trade but now even the most unlikely have at least read David Batstone’s book Not For Sale. At first, I thought this was a good thing. People were finally seeing the horrors of modern day slavery. People were putting others before themselves. People were finally caring. However, I have to wonder how much of this is the take off of a trend. It is almost as if the more you know about the subject the “cooler” you are. To be “indie’ means to be knowledgeable about social issues.
Is this good? I cannot say yes or no. It disgusts me that people would use such horrors to be “trendy.” Yes, these precious ones are NOT FOR SALE, including the sale of all the social action t-shirts and propaganda people indulge in. The suffering of others should never be the trend of a subculture. I had a conversation with Professor Farhadian about this once. His words keep ringing in my head, “How many truly care?”
He told me that tribes in Papua New Guinea asked him to go back to the States and tell of the oppression by the Indonesian government. He went from church to church telling one horrific story after the next. People were shocked, appauled, and rialed up, but did nothing. They had the head knowledge and did nothing with it. You can read as many books, visit as many countries, and hear as many speakers as you want, but actions are what count right?
I am puzzled, but I am constantly seeing social justice becoming a trend instead of a fight for freedom and justice.
