Below are some really thought-provoking words from a very awesome individual, JPII, as well as Pope John XXIII (they come from JPII's Laborem Exercens, as well as an address he gave on 11.24.79. Pope John XXIII's comes from an encyclical entitled Mater et Magistra).
"The dignity of the human being - a creature made in God's image - is the only criterion by which to judge the real progress of society, work, of science...and not the reverse."
My personal favorite - "Do not give more value to the work than to the worker."
"We need to examine 'whether the structure, the functioning, the environment of the economic system, are such that they curtail the human dignity of all those who expend their own energy in it.'"
"The dignity of work is given expression in the just wage, the basis of all social justice."
By supporting a communist government, by saying who cares where this was made, we are essentially giving more value to the item ("I must HAVE it! It's cheap!") than the person. Shouldn't it matter that the person who made my electric piano or my iPod is overworked and underfed?
It is our responsibility as free individuals with a voice to stand up for those who do not - the unborn, the elderly, and yes, the persecuted. It's easy to say that my giving up China won't change anything. And you may be right: physically, my personal boycott won't effect China one bit. But if I boycott, you boycott, and Sam next door boycotts, there's three people. And if we tell others about what we're doing and why, well, then we might just make a dent.
God bless you for this venture. It's making me more aware. Many times, it's easier to keep our eyes and ears closed, rather than do the necessary leg/brain work to make a change. But change is necessary, when the cause is just.
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