The other day my wife pulled out some cookies from the oven and laid them on the counter. Just a few minutes later my daughter jumped up on the counter, smelled the cookies, and then quickly managed to lick each one. I was in shock. When I asked her what in the world she was doing she responded by saying, \u201cI want to make sure I get some.\u201d In her selfish act (which she probably gets from me) she was really speaking to a deep human emotion that comes from the fear of scarcity. This fear that we are running low, or will run out, motivates us all. We think there just won\u2019t be enough food, enough money, enough oil, enough you name it. We globally have enough of everything to go around but how do we value each other enough to share it?<\/p>\n
Zygmunt Bauman\u2019s book Collateral Damage helps bring to life the inequality in our world and the people that become the collateral damage, or those that suffer the \u201cunanticipated effects\u2026the harmful, hurtful, and damaging\u201d effects of others decisions. As Bauman points out, \u201cthinking in terms of collateral damage tacitly assumes an already existing inequality of rights.[1]<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n I think Bauman correctly says, \u201chardly any one model is free from its own hitches and stumbling blocks[2]<\/a>\u201d but can\u2019t we agree that some models are better then others? I understand Bauman\u2019s opening illustration and the significant inequalities that resulted because of hurricane Katrina, but anyone living in Wichita has been influenced by the Koch brothers, the largest political donors in the country (committed 1 Billion dollars to the upcoming election) and their staunch belief in the free market. The Koch brothers regularly point to the free market as to why the poor in America are better off then the poor anywhere else. I\u2019ve also heard the Koch brothers compare our nation\u2019s response to the Katrina disaster to other global natural disasters and how their nations responded (i.e. Haiti earthquake.) I don\u2019t know the right answer but Bauman is right \u00a0\u201cwe cannot effectively defend our freedoms here at home while fencing ourselves off from the rest of the world and attending solely to our own affairs.[3]<\/a>\u201d The Koch brothers (and many others) don\u2019t consider liquid modernity and the global inequalities when they invest their billions into the American political system. There is an \u201cus against them mentality\u201d that values our life as something greater then others.<\/p>\n So how do we minimize collateral damage? How do think globally? How do we share resources and connect with others? I think it starts with finding value in all people. I am not sure the answer but I’ve witnessed something globally that gives me hope. Human trafficking has jumped to the forefront as a social issue in many nations. While there is a lot of work that needs to be done I\u2019ve been surprised to see the progress Governments and Social groups have accomplished together. It started with awareness, changing language, implementing laws, and finding value in women who once were viewed without value. The issue of Human trafficking has a long way to go but I believe in a few shorts years the conversation has changed, an inequality is slowly being addressed, and people are willing to share their resources, time, and money now that they see an issue differently.<\/p>\n How do we minimize collateral damage? We must stop licking all the cookies and claiming them for ourselves. We must see the value in others and build relationships with those that society has discarded. We must learn that there is enough to go around for everyone because Jesus is enough for everyone.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Zygmunt Bauman,\u00a0Collateral Damage: Social Inequalities in a Global Age<\/em>\u00a0(Cambridge, UK.: Polity, 2011), 5.<\/p>\n
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