Response #3

For this blog post I would like to pose some questions. Hopefully, these are insightful or at least help provide a different lens with which to view our conversations in as we progress even further into this semester in honors. I will also try to provide a brief idea that I had in regards to the question asked.

            For my first question, I really want to look at our conversation itself, the manner in which we try to convey our thoughts to one another. Are we even open to understand another’s point of view? Do we come into these conversations to champion our idea against, or do we come as partners in truth hoping to learn from each other’s unique and particular views?

            I believe we often times, in honors, come in with a mindset to herald our belief on a particular subject. We want to share, or maybe impose, or view on the rest of the group. Christening our own particular interest as the one most worthy of attention and focus at the moment. When quarrels arise, rarely do we hasten to fully understand the opposing view. Instead we abruptly begin to pontificate about the vast depth of insight we have towards this particular subject. Might we spend a bit more time in trying to understand each other? I mean, we all are journeying to the same end, are we not? Truth? If so, as Peter Kreeft said in one of his books I read this summer, “People who disagree with me… are my special friends and allies,” and they help us to be “surer of the truth.” Instead of rallying support for our preexisting notion, may we foster diverse ideas (all diversity: new ideas and old, left and right, non-traditional AND traditional)?

            What are the conditions of the cocoa industry in Latin America? We talked almost exclusively about the cocoa production line with an origin in the Ivory Coast and Ghana. While a majority of the beans in the world do come from western Africa, there is still a substantial portion of cocoa that does not come from African but mainly Latin America. What does it look like there, and if it is better, could this be a stepping stone toward an overhaul of all cocoa plantations around the world?

            I honestly do not know what the working conditions are in the majority of Latin American cocoa plantations. Is trafficking and child labor as big as a problem there? Is it even a problem there? Maybe someone would be able to enlighten me in the comments. That would be much appreciated. However, let us assume for now that a fair to large portion of Latin American cocoa plantations are operating on an ethical level. What could we, or should we, do from that point? It seems logical that we could expect major companies to just start to buy exclusively from them. But would not the immense stress of demand potentially initiate a reaction that would mimic the exact thing that is happening in western Africa? Maybe we could send the corporate side and/or the plantation owners down to the Latin American areas to see how they are successfully and profitably run. What if they don’t care though? That brings us to another troubling question.

            How is value instilled and why should their values be ours? This seems altogether absurd and outlandish, but maybe that is just the way we think. What I am trying to say is that in order for the conditions to change, a lot of people’s priorities and values will have to change with it. How do you convince a man that he should even care about that fact that he is engaging in slavery and in child slavery nonetheless? How do you straighten a crooked government enough for them to push for the freedom of its youngest citizens? How can you even talk to a corporation to convince them to care about something that is “technically” not happening and have that corporation lose a substantial amount of profit? How do you help a family that is willing to send their young child off into (possibly unknown) slavery?

            For me, the scariest thought is “What if this is just a way of life?” We westerners think that our form of civilization is wonderful and for the whole world. Democracy is the only golden form of government. Well, there were a lot of content and satisfied people before democracy was ever invented, and there will be a lot of content people after it passes. What if we are just trying to impose a preference, like an argument between meal choices? How do we know this is no longer a matter of rice and bread and is about right and wrong?

(For the record, I do believe it is about right and wrong. Just wanted to put that out there before someone labels me as a heartless monster. I am just trying to cultivate discussion into the origins and reasoning of our actions)