I hate news*

*Except for when it really is news...

I like to know what is happening in the world around me, whether by picking up and reading the newspaper or by seeing what's on the news stream via Yahoo, but when Yahoo has in bold print KELLY CLARKSON AIRBRUSHED OFF POUNDS FOR MAGAZINE COVER or JON AND KATE PLUS 8 (FILL IN THE BLANK) I just want to pick up my laptop and throw it out the widow.

Seriously folks, that isn't news; kids starving to death of malnutrition, AIDS and Dafur in Africa affect many... That IS news, that is what should capture our hearts and our minds and our attention.

Yet we buy into the false news, it sells and it weighs less on our conscience than having to actually do something about what we read and learn (oh no). I do believe as a human being first and a follower of Christ second, WE need to bring about change to this world, and not entirely from An Inconvenient Truth angle (although going green and using our resources wisely is a good thing), it is about working to help out our brothers and sister human beings in their plight, to help make life for them good and sustainable for them.

Lately I have been doing research as how to tackle Nike shoes for next year, no joke, I have been learning what has been bothering the people of Indonesia, China and Vietnam (where Nike shoes are made). A lot of what I read is that what they need is better treatment from their employers and better pay.

The latter is kind of obvious, that they need more money for what they do (and rightly so), we as a consuming capitalist society (as a nation, but as individuals I suppose) take advantage of our brothers and sisters overseas; don't say that the prices at Walmart or Old Navy are that low out of the kindness of both companies heart's, they are that low because they can do so after ripping off poorer cultures of the world.
God has been nudging me in a direction where I am not consuming as much, but in the wake of not buying what I want I was left with a NOW WHAT remaining in my head. My answer came in the form of talking out some of this with a guy I met in Tennessee, he informed me that a big part of it is reinvesting in the countries and the people to continue what they're doing, but helping them out with better treatment and pay (right on with what the workers of Nike ask for!), to bring about change for an area from the ground level up. He got me thinking and now I am working at what next summer could hold for me to help out where I can.

If I truly want to be a global citizen, if I truly want to reflect God's love outwards to those around me both near and far, I will take notice to news that is really news and find ways to help out where I can. It might not be a case of stepping out of one's comfort zone, but it might just have to mean expanding the size of one's comfort zone. Bringing change is doable, it might cost a lot but the rewards are worth more than one can imagine.
Let's bring about change, let's care for our fellow man. Let us get concerned about news and events that really matters in the long haul.

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