Thank You To India China and Taiwan 谢谢 शुक्रिया: Thoughts

Thank You To India China and Taiwan 谢谢 शुक्रिया

By: David Rader II on March 18, 2012 @ 11:58 AM

Thank You
谢谢
शुक्रिया

When I buy an ice cream from the ice cream man or a garment from a department store, I say thank you. I rarely get the chance to say thanks to those who actually make the products.

While many products I purchase are made in a diverse and large number of countries, by far the most products seem to be made in India, China & Taiwan and thus they go the most without thanks. I am truly thankful for the work each person does around the world, but because I never see you, I thought I could not thank you. I thought about this a few days ago when I was speaking to a man from India for tech support for a computer part. I really learned something from his help.

Whether you read this or not, I hope the ripples of it reach around the world so that you feel it. I know our economic disparity is great and is heavily leaning towards our side (USA). I wish this was not so and that we may be treated as equals, as we are equals. But please consider, our economic disparity may not be so great as it seems, because while our wages are higher, our costs are higher. Rent for an apartment where I live is $700 USD a month for a "cheap" apartment in a higher crime area. That doesn't include expensive utilities, vehicle, or required insurances. I'm not saying this to downplay our inequalities, but to bring better understanding to them.

I am of the faith that we are all brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons to each other in this world. Just as a wise teacher remains a student, so does a parent learn from a child and likewise a sibling learns from a sibling. We have much to learn from each other- young and old, poor and rich. We should not let our lack of understanding keep us from one another, but let it encourage us to find one another.

Where will the conversations happen? Where are the conversations happening? Where will they continue to happen? I think we can thank each other in few ways more than gaining a better understanding of each other. Our three biggest obstacles are apathy which is the fear of being unable to affect something, language which leads to a lack of understanding and leaders who intentionally lead us away from understanding. The truth will set us free and bring us together. I think even those leaders who lead us away from understanding do so in fear and they would have their hearts turned if they knew we do not want to take revenge on them for their crimes, but to bring them with us- away from their crimes so they may share their understanding. Two people can understand something in an opposite way, yet both be right. One may see the bees and think of their sting, while another sees the bees and thinks of their honey. Only seeing the good and the bad do we know how to live in harmony with the bee honey and the bee sting... Which brings me back to the original point of this article- so many people manufacture in the world and do so much work, but there is so little thanks- very little harmony. So thank you to those who made my shoes in Mexico, to those who made my computer in China, my shirt in Taiwan, my tool in USA, my box in Germany and many more. I hope I can give back one day too.