Steps you can take NOW

[JaneDoughnut]

Another great article from the Common Dreams website.

!snip!

A few things you can do right now:

1. Confront your resistance. Out yourself. Gently. Then figure out why you don't shop your values and realistically address your issues/concerns. And as you do this, go ahead and throw out your burdensome "progressive guilt" once and for all. It keeps you stuck and makes you a living hell at parties.

2. Get educated. Go to sites like Corpwatch (www.corpwatch.org) and Center for Responsive Politics (www.opensecrets.org) to see how the companies you do business with rate. At opensecrets, click on "Soft Money Donations" and type in a corporation.

3. Create an 'I'm Taking Back Our Country' (ITBOC) Investment Portfolio, one step at a time. Make a pledge to yourself, to your community, and to your kids to stop shopping at at least one chain store you do business with regularly. No matter what. Yep, even if it's a big pain in the ass. Seek out the local alternatives in your area. It's a wonderful way to reconnect to your neighborhood. That human connection with local vendors is what creates community. After feeling great and seeing how doable it is, add another and then another. Encourage friends to start their own ITBOC Portfolio.

4. Start your ITBOC portfolio today with your holiday shopping. Ideally we'd put less emphasis on obligatory holiday gift giving, or we'd make our own gifts. But if that isn't an option, check out the countless community craft fairs filled with interesting one of a kind stuff made by local artists. They're really great. Or shop at fair trade stores like San Francisco Bay Area's Global Exhange (www.globalexchange.org). In your gift card, tell your loved one about the artist and/or the concept of local shopping and fair trade. Bring to life the person/people who made the gift. How much more meaningful and interesting it'll be than some million in a million gift from a chain store.

5. Confront the corporations. If you know you're in a store that isn't local or fair trade, ask, "Does any of part of the money for go to help this neighborhood? Or, "How much of this price tag do the people in (fill in: China, Malaysia, America, etc.) who make this stuff get?" Politely refuse to buy it if they don't know. Then write to the CEO and let him/her know what you think. Write a letter to the editor. Also, be sure to thank the companies that are doing good things, as well.

!snip!

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1207-29.htm
Progressives, It's Time to Put Our Money Where Our Protest Signs Are
Let's Truly Shop Our Values This Holiday and Beyond
by Carol Norris

[Lorien]

1. Excellent article-thanks!

I'll be sending it to everyone on my e-mail list. :-)