Responsible Citizenship

I am going to steal something from a sermon I heard recently at Southside Presbyterian Church by Pastor Allison Harrington for this one. Why is it that we think that our only political responsibility is voting? We vote, and think we have done our job, think that we can blame problems on those we have voted into office. In fact, every choice we make on a daily basis is a political action. How we get around, where and how we do or do not spend our money, how we eat, what we do on vacation... these are all things that enforce political realities.

My roommates and I were talking the other day about Liberal Arts college students that protest immigration policies--and then go home and smoke marijuana (booo), increasing the demand for drug smugglers that reinforce negative opinions about people that cross the border. To be fair, there is no way to ensure consistent decision-making in a world of such moving targets. But I think it's really important to be educated about the implications of the way we live our lives. Understand where meat comes from, where potato chips come from, where the tomatoes in your Taco Bell burrito come from, (here you go Dad--) where your New Balance shoes and hundreds of straws come from. Whatever decision you make, you're free to make that decision, but you're also responsible for what happens because of that decision.

We all believe in different things, and that's ok, but please, please don't be ignorant about what your actions mean on a broader scale.