It’s unarguably the greatest moment in time to be alive.
Add to that, we’re Americans. We have, buy, and enjoy the best, newest conveniences of our time. Without a single thought we are living in the single greatest moment in time, strapped with the best gear the world has to offer, on the freest land on the planet.
Unfortunately it would be a downright shame if we never took a single moment to think about the LIVES (yes…. multiple lives)that are affected by this way of life we are so quick to revel in morning, noon, and night.
No, you’re right, you don’t owe anyone anything.
But just take a second, no need to pause the J Beeb, hear me out on this.
Somewhere far, far away in this foreign country they call China there’s this company. And really it’s pretty sweet because young adults get the opportunity to make an honest dollar everyday! No wait one dollar would be ridiculous, make that 9 dollars….Yup- nine dollars a day. And boy, are they lucky because that’s a new pay rate! Foxxconn just raised the pay rate! They raised it from where it was at less than 3 dollars for every day of work.
They figured if they didn’t, there’s a good chance they would have to put up even more anti-suicide nets around the “campus” buildings the factory workers to live in. And having to put up more nets- well that would be horrible, ya’ know?
Yeah, their conditions are so bad; their futures look so bleak that after working here for a few months, they decide it’s just not worth it anymore.
But you rest assured Foxxconn is doing everything it can. They just employed 2,000 on-site therapists! But only after they figured the dorms were possessed and had some monks take a stroll around the place.
Somehow the first whopper of a resolution didn’t work….weird.
One girl, mid-twenties lived in an impoverished area some miles away from the manufacturer, as many of the new employee do before making their way to Foxxconn. She came all this way to work to send money back home to Mom and Dad. Kind of like most young adults do in America today(…or wait?)
Once she got there she was put on iPad shining duty.
Shine, shine, shine all day long.
There is a high demand for these babies, and every single last one had got to be perfect!
She reported to work at 7:30 a.m. for shine duty at 8.
Shine, shine, shine, and then back to sleep for tomorrow.
She needs the sleep if she’s going to do it all over again the next day.
One day this budding professional shiner jumped from the top floor of her dorm.
But she failed at taking her life.
Now Mom and Dad, the same Mom and Dad she moved to help, spend everyday caring after their quadriplegic daughter.
When I neared the bottom of the first article I read about this low in human action, the article came to a picture of the first two girls in American, outside of Apple in NYC to buy THE FIRST iPads in all of America.
They held the iPad, proud. They had them. And best of all they had them before everyone else! Good thing we have businesses like Foxxconn that can pump out iPads fast enough for our American demand.
It’s not the girls’ fault. It’s not my fault. It’s not your fault.
It’s just that we have it all, and there’s a chance we’ll keep getting it.
But how is it possible we can turn away from the truth and enjoy it just as much?
Joshua Alberola
Communication Studies
Wilkes 2011
