In a conversation with a friend today, we were discussing being aware of hurts in the world, and she made a comment that stuck with me: "It hurts to care." She went on: "Sometimes I want to not get involved because I don't like seeing the dark underbelly of what sin can do to people."
I agree. It hurts to care. It's hard to keep track of the ethical and moral and social justice and environmental problems in the world, and weigh them against each other, choosing the least-bad products and companies and people and organizations to support. It hurts because it takes time and thought, but it also hurts our hearts to know others are hurting even worse- often because of the things I and my neighbors and my countrymen support.
Because I know that, whether I care or turn a blind eye, my purchases are supporting something- good or bad- I choose to support something good. Sometimes that "something good" is my neighbor nearby, when I buy their used goods, saving perfectly usable stuff from a landfill. Sometimes the "something good" is the earth, as I choose to buy food that hasn't traveled as far, or was grown without harmful chemicals. Sometimes it means choosing the best of no-good-option- shopping at the megastore that pays their employees just a little better, or gets less of their stuff from China.
Regardless, it hurts to care.
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