Made Me Think...
...and that's all it has to do, right?
I've never read this book by John Stossel - truth is, I barely know who he is (he's on, like, TV somewhere, right?). But I hit on a link to a link to a link to a Fox news article here with the great title "Almost Everything We're Taught Is Wrong."*** I mean, how do you pass that one up?
So, anyway, one of the things the article (and presumably, the book) suggests is that while we would all agree that child labor is a bad thing - bordering on human rights violations - abuse - evil even, maybe... BUT... well... they suggest that if you pull children out of the sweatshops in the poorest of poor countries...there's a good chance they end up as child prostitutes. Okay, now I know it's not a one-to-one correlation. What they say is something like there's a dramatic increase in child prostitution... So, yeah, that actually kind of makes sense, though. The kids are going to have to work somehow. Take away the "legal" method of working...there's going to be the seedy dark underside of "working"...
The article is all about economics - but it all "makes sense." So, of course, that's what makes it so suspicious to me. You know, "price gouging" during emergencies is a "good thing" because it forces people in the emergencies to only buy what they need or something and ticket scalpers are really just allowing me to pay extra for my saved time (I didn't have to wait in line to get the tickets...of course, I can't tell you the last time I waited in line for tickets...but that goes against the grain of the article...so nevermind...) and if you have the money, well, you should be able to buy extra body parts (after all you can buy hair and reproductive stuff and whatever...) and their argument about blackmail...well, they lost me...whatever.
But it got me thinking. That first example especially. An act of justice that could lead to a greater injustice. How complicated life becomes... I would have NEVER thought that through. End child labor. That makes sense to me - because I live in a country where, when we ended child labor, families had options for their children. Different culture, different era, different economy, different...everything...
Well, it made me think, anyway...
*** I do get a little sick of the sensationalizing of the "news" these days...but it obviously works...I mean, I clicked on the link, didn't I?
I've never read this book by John Stossel - truth is, I barely know who he is (he's on, like, TV somewhere, right?). But I hit on a link to a link to a link to a Fox news article here with the great title "Almost Everything We're Taught Is Wrong."*** I mean, how do you pass that one up?
So, anyway, one of the things the article (and presumably, the book) suggests is that while we would all agree that child labor is a bad thing - bordering on human rights violations - abuse - evil even, maybe... BUT... well... they suggest that if you pull children out of the sweatshops in the poorest of poor countries...there's a good chance they end up as child prostitutes. Okay, now I know it's not a one-to-one correlation. What they say is something like there's a dramatic increase in child prostitution... So, yeah, that actually kind of makes sense, though. The kids are going to have to work somehow. Take away the "legal" method of working...there's going to be the seedy dark underside of "working"...
The article is all about economics - but it all "makes sense." So, of course, that's what makes it so suspicious to me. You know, "price gouging" during emergencies is a "good thing" because it forces people in the emergencies to only buy what they need or something and ticket scalpers are really just allowing me to pay extra for my saved time (I didn't have to wait in line to get the tickets...of course, I can't tell you the last time I waited in line for tickets...but that goes against the grain of the article...so nevermind...) and if you have the money, well, you should be able to buy extra body parts (after all you can buy hair and reproductive stuff and whatever...) and their argument about blackmail...well, they lost me...whatever.
But it got me thinking. That first example especially. An act of justice that could lead to a greater injustice. How complicated life becomes... I would have NEVER thought that through. End child labor. That makes sense to me - because I live in a country where, when we ended child labor, families had options for their children. Different culture, different era, different economy, different...everything...
Well, it made me think, anyway...
*** I do get a little sick of the sensationalizing of the "news" these days...but it obviously works...I mean, I clicked on the link, didn't I?
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