Last night we watched Cecile DeMille's 1956 classic, “The Ten Commandments”.
The root of this story is the slavery
of the Hebrew people at the hands of the Egyptians, and their
eventual deliverance into freedom and ultimately nationhood. Their
slavery is depicted as cruel and unrelenting; they are basically used
and thrown away when no longer able to do the manufacturing demanded
of them by their privileged masters. One of the earliest stories in
the Christian anthology places a premium on self-determination, on
freedom, on the evils of enslavement.
Today I was reading Dylan Ratigan, and
he writes (fn1):
“The policy machinations happen on the other side of the Pacific, not just in America. In March 2006, write[sic] Brendan Smith, Tim Costello, and Jeremy Brecher in Asia Times, the Chinese government proposed a new labor law that would have improved working conditions moderately. In response, the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, as well as US corporations such as General Electric, Wal-Mart, and even Google lobbied against the law, and in some cases threatened to leave China for countries such as Pakistan and Thailand if it passed. By December, the Chinese government had revised the draft law to limit workers' rights in the areas of contracts, collective bargaining, and severance, among others.”
He was writing about the nearly
intolerable working conditions at many Chinese manufacturing plants,
notably those exposed at Foxconn (maker of iPads, iPhones, and iPods
and other Apple products). The workers there have been dubbed
'iSlaves', and for all practical purposes, they are slaves: forced to
perform a small set of tasks repeatedly for barely more than
sustenance living; their work hours controlled by their masters; many
falling prey to central nervous system disorders at an early age as a
result of the chemicals they use; and then thrown aside without any
further compensation from either their company or their government.(fn4)
The eye-opener is that American
companies lobbied against an improvement in working conditions: That
Americans felt it was their privilege to be the beneficiaries of the
exploitation of poor Chinese citizens. We shouldn't be surprised,
though: A lowering of labor standards in China, along with
preferential trade status, brings about a lowering of labor standards
in America, opening the doors to greater exploitation of the American
laborer, along with increased profits for the corporate executives
and shareholders who employ said laborers.
Today is Easter – the Holiest Day on
the Christian calendar, and the celebration of the life of Jesus.
Interestingly, in his teachings, Jesus was consistently against
privilege: In his Sermon on the Mount he spoke of the blessedness of
the merciful, of the evil that awaits he who attempts to serve two
masters and store up money on earth; after the last supper he knelt
down and washed his disciples' feet, proclaiming “Now that I, your
Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one
another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I
have done for you.” (fn2) Jesus spent his life preaching, teaching,
and living against privilege.
And well he should have: For it is
privilege, and the seeking of privilege that leads us to acceptance
of exploitation and slavery of others; prejudice is our natural
defense against the cognitive dissonance that arises when we treat
another human as sub- or unworthy.
But, I wonder. Some 70-80 million
adults attended Easter Services today in America (fn3). Did they
connect the dots? Richard Feynman, the Nobel Physicist, observed that
most intelligence is fragile: That information gained in one area or
endeavor is seldom transferred to another, even when the situation is
an exact transformation. Dr Feynman was renowned for solving problems
in chemistry and biology (in addition to his physics), correctly
recognizing that the problem was solvable using a transformation of
the mathematics and methods he knew.
Jesus spoke against privilege. Moses
spoke against slavery. If we connect the line between the two:
Enslavement of the Hebrews was wrong.
Enslavement of the Jews (by the Romans) was wrong. Enslavement of the
American Negro was wrong. Enslavement of the Chinese Peasantry is
wrong. Using the situation of the Chinese peasantry to push the
American laborer back towards enslavement is wrong.
How many who attended Easter Services
today will wake up tomorrow with a renewed interest in living a life
without privilege; will recognize that privilege is what drives them
to demand of their leaders (and drives our leaders themselves) to
increase exploitation of 'others' around the world; that it is only
through the exploitation of those, like the Chinese, that we have all
that we have?
Relinquishing privilege can be painful,
and leaves us with less material goods, although it strengthens our
moral character. Privilege and slavery have been human social
constants for most of human civilization. But, humans were not made
to toil in poor conditions for the benefit of another; humans were
not made to be abused by the whims of a master; each human was made
to live a life of free determination, choosing his or her own path,
choosing what to do and who to help during his mortal journey, and
reaping the rewards thereof. Each should have the ability to work in
conditions that are safe, with remuneration above sustenance, without
fear of losing their job or their livelihood because some business
owners have found a new group of people somewhere to exploit or
enslave.
Everywhere and anywhere we see abuse of
privilege leading to exploitation of another we must speak out. As
the Pharaohs were to the Hebrews, so those today who feel that it is
in their power, their privilege to live a life above while at the
same time denying freedom to others, especially under the guise of
'employment', must be called out. The executives who would fight to
deny a moderate increase in the working conditions of overseas
laborers; the executives who would fight to decrease working
conditions for their fellow Americans; the lawmakers who allow trade
imbalances to continue that make it too easy for Americans to lose
sight of the evils of privilege and slavery and so invest their money
and talent in exploiting rather than producing; All must made to hear
our desire to end both, and to fear our wrath if they do not.
Speaking out against slavery and
privilege occupy a place in our oldest writings; We've understood for
more than 3000 years that such a relationship is against our very
moral fiber. Sadly, our work constructing a society built on a more
positive relationship is still very much nascent, constantly thwarted
by the powerful and our own innate desire to have more than our
neighbor; and our unwillingness, once we find ourselves privileged,
to move to strike such thinking from our minds and hearts and promote
ideas that are fair to all.
Not the easy road, but if one lesson
can be gleaned from today, it is that the correct path is not the
easy one. Imagine for just a moment how the difficulties facing us
might appear differently if we were to strike privilege and prejudice
(and the acceptance of exploitation) from our thinking, from our doing, from the very structure of our
society.
(fn1) Dylan Ratigan. “Greedy
Bastards” Loc 995, Kindle Edition, 2011.
(fn2) Jesus washes disciples feet. John
13, v14-15. NIV
(fn3) Estimated Easter Christian
Attendance – 70-80 million adults (approximately 1/3 of the nation) -
pulled from Wikipedia, Pew Research (59 million average Sunday
attendance, Easter approx. 33% higher)
(fn4) No, I am not picking on Apple. I was chagrined to learn that my Kindle was most likely made either there or at an equivalent factory - and that much of what we purchase with the 'Made In China' sticker has aspects of that, although electronics are likely the worst.
