Walking the Walk

Kristina and I believe that individual actions can have a global effect, which is why we have chosen to change our lifestyle. We believe that how we chose to live not only makes a statement about what we value but can influence others and eventually change the world.


We decided to really change our lifestyle before our oldest son William was born. We would no longer just sputter outrage at the injustices we saw, or pay lip service to environmental issues. We were going to walk the walk. We were going to act upon our principals, we were not going to just complain about Nike using sweat shops to make its clothing (according to James Wallis Nike paid Michael Jordon more to sell shoes then it paid all of the people (combined) who actually made the shoes), while buying our Nike shoes, we were not going to buy any products unless we had good reason to believe that the people producing those products were treated fairly.

We do not think that one company (Monsanto) should have control of 80% of the US corn crop and 95% of the Soybean crop. We will not (or at least try very hard to) support corporations that actively causes harm to people to inflate their own profits. That uses intimidation and fear to coerce people to use their products and bankrupts anyone who tries to resist them.

If you think that one family cannot change the world then think about the organic food movement. The term organic was only used by a few hippies in the 1970’s who wanted to live outside of the military industrial complex. Now every major supermarket chain has an organic section. In 2002 22% of all dairy cows were injected with rBGH and in 2007 only 11% of cows had rBGH injections. Since then the three biggest dairy retailers Wal-Mart, Kroger, Costco have pledge to sell only rBGH free milk (Monsanto is trying to make it illegal for milk labels to have “rBGH Free”). Both of these movements were begun by families concerned about the food that they eat and the health effects of pesticides on the environment. The actions of a few individuals gathered steam and rolled over an oppressive corporate giant.

Most all consumer movements , Fair Trade, Product Safety, debt free, etc…. have been started by one person saying “I don’t like this and I am going to change how I live”. If all of us try our hardest to act upon our principals and take a moral stand for what we believe in, instead of giving up or taking the easy way out, then we can change the world.

What would our world be like if people like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Thomas Jefferson, etc…… said “I am just one person, and how can I make a difference? The problem is too big I don't want to even try”? You see the key is not trying to change the world but changing ourselves. We usually have no control of the world around us but we almost always can control how we react to it. We can talk about how things need to change, or we can try to change the things we can change.

You don’t like the fact that Chase, Citibank and Bank of America got bailed out by the tax payer but still awards $100’s of millions in bonuses? Then get rid of your Chase, Citibank and Bank of America credit cards. Move your money to a small local bank, that didn’t get bailed out. Write your congressional representatives, if enough of us complain about something they will eventually listen. Boycott companies and products who use practices that you don’t like when you can (it’s really hard to boycott Saudi oil). But the most important thing that you can do is VOTE in every election. Vote in your local elections, in your state or provincial elections and your national elections, but please just VOTE! I don’t even care who you vote for, well I do but that’s not the point.

We can make a difference in the world but the first thing we must do is try, we have to try and we must never quit fighting for the things that we believe in!