Friday, March 18, 2011

The Little Things

Normally, I write this blog about Rossmoor homes, but today something is bothering me to where I need to speak a little bit off topic. It's about how important it is to stand up for the things that we feel strongly about, and how even small things can make a difference. About a week ago, Palestinian terrorists broke into an Israeli family's home in a West Bank settlement and brutally slaughtered a mother, father and three of their children. Naturally, I was horrified beyond all imagination at this kind of event, but it goes a little bit deeper. Following the return of the Palestinians to their own neighborhood, their deeds were celebrated in the streets and candy was passed out to their own children.

Unfortunately, these kinds of events are so terribly commonplace in that region, that we are almost numb to their brutality. The worst part of the whole situation is the absolute powerlessness that we feel to have any kind of impact on the situation. In the United States, we are generally reviled throughout the Middle East and our policies really do not change the way they operate. When I am looking at my own children and thinking how lucky I am to live where I do, I often find myself wondering what I can do to help.

I found inspiration in the most unusual place, Sprouts grocery store. To be more specific, it was when I was looking at organic grass fed beef. The label on the beef indicated that it was the product of Uruguay. You may ask yourself why that is important. Well, Tuesday (The day the horrors above took place), the government of Uruguay officially recognized "Palestine" as a sovereign state. That's right, the same folks that were dancing in the streets upon hearing word that a three month old infant was butchered while asleep in his father's arms was rewarded with recognition from the country of Uruguay!

I know there isn't much I can do about diplomatic events around the world, and far greater minds than mine have failed to bring any kind of reason the that part of the world; but, there is at least one thing that I can do. I can stop buying food at Sprouts, and let them know why. In fact, I can tell all my friends, and anyone that cares to read this that they may want to do the same. I do this not for reasons of punishing Sprouts (They have the best lamb around by miles!), or even to punish the ranchers in Uruguay. The fact is that they have nothing to do with these kinds of decisions, and are probably completely unaware they were even made.

I do this because if I can move enough people to make our local Sprouts stop buying that meat. Then, just maybe, Sprouts cancels their contract with that importer and the ranchers approach their local politician in Uruguay and they take action to rescind that recognition. Ultimately, I know that won't happen, but it doesn't hurt to try. And if I fail to make any kind of change other than the one I make at home, at least I know that my children will be consuming good food with a good conscience. In a different world, I could have been that poor father whose last breath was taken as his son died in his arms.

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