Consequences

Have you heard of the butterfly effect? Perhaps you've seen the movie starring Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart. Basically a small change can propagate and cause a larger change. This is essentially cause and (large) effect. It's pretty straightforward to understand. Is it always the case? I don't know. I'll leave that up to physicists. It's hard to say that if I were to punch the ground in Boston, Massachusetts that this will have any major consequences around the world other than a broken hand.

There are other actions I could take that will have a larger effect. Some effects are obvious, but many consequences likely go unseen. Part of what distinguishes us humans from other animals is our ability to ponder the results of a decision before making it. However, I don't think we are utilizing this ability enough.

I think in most cases the decisions we make are motivated by self interest. By choosing option A over options B, C, and D, I will benefit the most. Humans are selfish creatures, so this is to be expected. I am selfish and there's nothing inherently 'wrong' with that. But, I think we need to spend more time considering and understanding the consequences of our decisions and actions. It's possible that what we initially understand to be the better option, is actually not - in terms of better for us personally and/or better for others. If you do care about others, there's even more to consider.

Here's a simple example that actually does occur often: in many parts of the world, cola is cheaper than clean water. Don't believe me? Here's a BBC article on the subject. Families will buy and drink cola instead of water. If you didn't know better, it may seem like buying cola is the better option. You're getting a product that is cheaper that has calories over a product that is more expensive and has zero calories. The actual result? Diabetes. Similarly, there's a perception that healthy food is generally more expensive than unhealthy food. For some food items, this may be true. But, consider beans and lentils. SO cheap and SO healthy! By purchasing the cheap crap food, your health suffers. You are generally better off spending more and eating well.

So far, I've given pretty simple examples. Consequences go deeper, however - especially if you care about others. Continuing with the food examples.. where are you buying the food? What store? Who owns the store? Where does the food come from? Do you agree with the store owner's values? Are the store's workers paid fairly? How are you paying for the food? Cash or credit? Do you agree with your credit card companies values?

You can drive yourself into a rabbit hole before making any decision because the consequences are vast. Or, you can simply not care and make your decision based on information that is immediately available. I think we need to strike a balance.

I recently stopped buying avocados imported from Mexico because of information I learned from a documentary I saw on Netflix called Rotten. Should I believe everything I see on TV? Absolutely not. But, the documentary gave some compelling evidence and it was enough for me to take action. Basically, the avocado industry in Mexico is controlled by cartels. The avocado is often referred to as 'green gold'. Buy purchasing these avocados, you are mostly supporting these cartels instead of the actual farmers. Related article. Could the same be true for bananas? Perhaps. It's likely many food stuffs are controlled by large corporations where the actual growers get taken advantage of. This is part of the reason I like farmer's markets. 

Like I mentioned earlier, many consequences don't matter if you don't care about others. For example, if you shop at Walmart. You're getting some great bang for your buck. But you're also supporting child labor in sweat shops across the world. The workers at Walmart? They get paid terribly. Many employees have one or two other jobs just to get by. By shopping at Amazon, you're supporting the richest human in the world. And guess what? He might become the world's first trillionaire in a mere six years from now. That's insane. Source.

Do you use platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp? Then you're supporting Mr. Mark Zuckerberg. This POS refuses to block nasty, misleading political ads from appearing on people's Facebook feed. Source. This definitely played a part in getting the current POTUS elected and will again play apart in helping him to get reelected. 

Sometimes we don't really have much of a choice and we need to choose the lesser of two 'evils'. Say between Walmart and Target or Apple and Microsoft. But I think if we spend just a little more time doing some research before making a decision, we'd be better off.

Consequences go well beyond making purchases. Everything we do has consequences. See a piece of trash on the ground? No matter what you decide to do, you are setting a precedent. If you pick it up and throw it in a trash bin, you're cleaning up your own environment, which is benefiting you. It's also benefiting others. What if another person saw you doing this? It may encourage them to do the same. It may restore a sense of humanity in others. Or, you could leave the trash there and continue living in garbage land.

Your actions have consequences. Your inaction has consequences. I encourage everyone to think, at least a few levels deep, about how your actions affect the world around you. Sometimes, it will require a significant amount of effort to investigate and educate yourself, but I believe it's worth it. You, the people you care about, and the rest of the world will be better because of it.