The day after Saturday

After our day of presentations on Saturday, I came home with a heavy weight on my shoulders. It was wonderful to have a day filled with student-lead discussions and to see the different approaches our peers took to discussing Raphael's chapters. It was also inspiring to see the enthusiasm and sincere concern we all seemed to express towards the social determinants that hinder health in our society. It's funny, I often have strong feelings of indignation towards social issues when an isolated situation arises, but after a few days, the feeling wears off and I go back to living in my own little world, facing my daily grind.

But for some reason, the feeling lingered this weekend. I feel like often I am "all talk and no action." So to prolong the pull of my social conscience, I'm going to post the link to a video which we originally planned to show along with our presentation. It's called "The Story of Stuff" and it's about 20 minutes long, but definitely worthwhile. Through a series of illustrations, the narrator, Annie Leonard explains how all the "stuff" we buy gets into our hands, through a linear system from extraction to production, distribution to consumption and finally disposal. It shows how people and communities are affected all along the way and how our finite natural resources are being destroyed at an alarming rate. Of most concern, this video explains how people are affected along the line of production, those who are most marginalized and have no other options but to fill these positions along this system, driven by consumerism and economic gain. It ties into our discussion of precarious work environments that negatively affect health. Check it out! You'll never look at consumerist goods the same :)