To be or not to be...an optimist or pesmimist in the 21st century

Humanitarianism in the 21st century has turned me into a cynic. I must flesh out the conundrum I am in.

In the 21st century doing "good" is all the rage. But what "good" are we actually doing? Corporations have caught on that doing good for mankind looks cool, and now they have capitalized on it. But I must beg the question, can this be too good to be true? Gap previously was considered a corporate criminal for exploiting developing countries by using slave and child labor to produce the cheapest clothes and make the largest profit. Now, they have introduced Project Red, which donates a percentage of their profits to combat AIDS in Africa. Not only have they got many celebrities to jump on this "giving train" but they are allowing their customers to feel good about consuming more. Which brings me back to my original point, if we are consuming just as much but with a false impression that my new plaid shirt from the Gap is actually going eradicate AIDs in Africa, what "good" are we really doing?

However, I must play devil's advocate for just a moment. At least we are doing something. Something is better than nothing, right? Well, not always. Like I mentioned before, if we continue to blindly support projects that we do not know anything about, then how can we make sure that ANYTHING is actually being done. When I buy that Project Red shirt at the Gap who am I really helping, and more importantly who is that money really going to? With all the publicity they have put into this project, not to mention the price of ads, commercials, etc. how much money is going to the source? Is this a credible source, or are we giving money to an ineffective government, non-profit organization, whose top-down approach is unrealistic and completely caught in a web of bureaucracy.

So, what are we as consumers supposed to do? Gandhi once said, "be the change you want to see in the world," and that is a good way to live one's life, but I believe we must evolve that quote to 21st century standards. We must be the change we want to see in the world but we must know what that change is and if it is really helping. We must be conscious consumers. Corporations are taking advantage of our altruism and using it to make record profits. We must hold them accountable. We must demand that they inform us about the where, when, and why about these corporations humanitarian projects.


Hurricane Katrina brought destruction and poverty to the already impoverished New Orleans, what it also brought was huge donations from averages citizens all over the world. However, two years later New Orleans has seen little if any change. How can we make sure that misguided corporations don't get away with smuggling altruistic consumers hard earned cash? And how can we make sure that mismanaged non-profit organizations don't squander the donations that was meant to be given to those in need, not those with greed.

The only solution I can provide is one that is grass-roots and starts with you, the individual. We must not be cynical, but skeptical. We must not ask corporations and non-profits to give us details on their humanitarian projects, we must demand it. Some of these questions that should be demanded are:
-Which countries are you supporting? (are these countries that really need help most?)
-Is the reason you are giving funds to this specific country political? (Many organizations give funds to countries that ONLY support American policies, and in this day in age, their are only a few that are willing to stand behind American foreign policy.)
-What percentage is actually going to this alleged organization? (Some corporations use their humanitarian zeal to attract consumers but what consumers don't realize is that only a small fraction of their profits is actually being sent to where it needs to go).

We live in a convoluted, dog-eat-dog world but we do not have to become victim to these ruthless tactics. We as individuals must as ourselves, are we willing to ask these questions, or are we to accustomed to this culture of convenience? For if we are not willing to change, then what "good" are we really doing?