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Brad Ruggles
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2008-08-16 13:56
I'm a fan of these kind of real-life-problems in the real world kind of movies. Good acting, a couple funny parts.
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2008-08-03 20:06
Interesting movie that brought up some good topics for discussion with my kids. It almost felt like the producers rode the fence between 'romantic comedy' and 'fairytale' genre. Consequently it slightly lacked as both.
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Journey to the Center of the Earth
2008-07-31 18:01
If I were rating it for me? 2. If I were rating it for Chloe? 4.5. So we'll just go with 3 and call it good. Your kid will enjoy it and that's what counts, right?
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Jun
27
When Good Intentions Lead To Bad Decisions
Post Category: Blog Posts, Makes You Think, Social Justice
If you hadn’t noticed, I got hammered in yesterday’s blog post. I’m talking two black eyes and kick to the stomach. Even my own wife disagreed with me!
First of all, let me just say how awesome it is to have an environment like this where you feel comfortable disagreeing with me and expressing different viewpoints. This is exactly the kind of discussion I want to have on my blog.
So let’s continue the conversation from yesterday. As you know, I picked up a bottle of Ethos water from Starbucks and wrote that that it was a “simple way to make a difference.” The point I was trying to make (and actually one I still stand by) is that a lot of people doing a little can make a BIG difference.
However, several valid points were raised that are worth discussing:
- Ethos only donates 5 cents from each $1.79 bottle towards clean water efforts.
- Their marketing is somewhat misleading and could lead you to think it is a purely charity-driven product
- Fixing one problem (lack of clean water around the world) could cause another (8 out of 10 plastic water bottles don’t get recycled causing build-up in our landfills) - a case of Aegrescit medendo (the remedy being worse than the disease)
I’ve read through all of your comments and I appreciate those you of you who took the time to write them. Here are a few observations:
- While it’s true that 5 cents out of bottle of water that cost $1.79 isn’t much, it’s better than .00 cents donated from the $.99 cent water we normally buy. At the very least I commend companies who at least recognize and participate in social action on any scale even if it’s not to the degree we would like.
- The biggest argument against products like Ethos is, Why not skip the bottled water or go with a cheaper water alternative so you can give more? To which I reply, ABSOLUTELY! That is undoubtedly the best solution to solving the global water crisis - make do with less so we can give more. My question then is, so how much are you giving up and how much have you given? It’s easy to point fingers at corporate giving practices and ignore our own. Could Ethos give more than 5 cents a bottle? I’m sure they can. Could I give more than I’m giving? Absolutely.
A bigger problem is the issue of creating excess waste to the tune of over 38 billion plastic water bottles in our landfills every year. It takes over 1.5 million barrels of oil to manufacture one year’s supply of bottled water. That’s enough oil to fuel 100,000 cars. Not very good environmental stewardship.
There are some very real issues facing us and I for one, don’t want to sit on the sidelines. Social change first begins with awareness, then education and results in action.
So, what are we going to do about it? I’ve got some ideas but I’d like to hear yours.
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23 Responses to “When Good Intentions Lead To Bad Decisions”
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I didn’t have a problem with what you wrote yesterday. I understood where you were coming from to begin with. I think the biggest thing that stands out to me is the fact that 8 out of 10 bottle are not recycled. That is only an issue because of “individual” practices. What if I started recycling bottles, then you and others, then that would help solve that issue. Should I stop buying bottled water because there is an issue with how many are recycled? No, because I cannot control what others do, but I can control what I do. **One solution is for cities, restaurants, and businesses to provide public trash cans and recycle containers instead of just trash cans**
I totally agree with #2 on your list. I hear people complain all the time about who is doing what and how much they are doing, but what are “We” as individuals doing? I think it goes back to the title of your post yesterday, “A Simple Way to Make a Difference.” - It definitely is not the only way, but if I see a bottle of Ethos water, and it cost a little more, I know that .5 cents is going to help people who I cannot touch, and if I were to mail a nickle off, its going to cost me almost .40 cents, and on top of it all I have to remember to send it off or to save it, etc…So at least they are doing something.
I guess my bottom line solution is greater individual responsibility, and as “the church” a greater corporate responsibility to be an answer to these issues. To me it is disgusting that American Idol gives more in one night than probably all of the churches combined in the US in one year. Sad!
Nicks last blog post..Does God Promise Protection?
Sorry I didn’t stop by yesterday but I was helping @patrowland/ihavethelongestnameintwitterhistory move yesterday.
my thoughts.
1. that is a great argument about buy the other water and donating, but that only works if you DO IT!!!
2.you are right on with the landfill!! Are we all recycling ALL the bottles that we are using no matter who makes it.
There you go,
BA
5th Streets last blog post..why it is great being a guy!
@Nick - Those are some good points and you’er exactly right - it does boil down to personal responsibility. In the parable of the steward when the master came back he wanted to know only one thing - what did YOU do with what I gave you?
Or, to put it another way, “What did you do to make a difference with the tools I gave you?”
I think that is the question God asks of each of us.
I think the best thing to do is to find a missionary who is bringing the Gospel to the third world AND creating fresh water wells. Here is a couple from my “college days” that are doing just that.
http://calvarychapelsarasota.com/216289.ihtml
The reason we should be so direct is so that our money we give is not eaten up in un-nessecary costs. This is why I usually don’t support any thing that is ADVERTISED such as the Ethos campaign. A good portion of wht I give is going into the marketing that brough it to my attention in the first place. That’s my two coppers anyway.
-Jud
And I can’t SPELL today for some reason.
@5thStreet - You’re right on. This is much bigger than just water bottles we’re talking about. It’s realizing that every action has consequences and affects the people around us in the world that we share.
And yeah, I think someone forgot to give @pdaddyrowland the memo. He just likes acting all gangsta
@Jud - You’re right, we need to be discerning about where we direct our resources. However, I wouldn’t completely avoid organizations simply because they advertise.
Granted, some non-profits waste advertising dollars needlessly but others use their marketing dollars to get their message in front of a larger audience.
For example, Compassion spends more advertising money than some good-sized companies but they also are sponsoring tens of thousands of children because of it.
My response is to Nick’s comment regarding American Idol giving more in one night that all the churches in the US combined in a year… You might want to do your homework on that one. I know for what my church gives to missions every year, and I also know of Rick Warren’s church, thier missions giving is insanely huge, as well as Tommy Barnett’s church, and a church I attended in Florida has a missions giving in the millions per year. Just make sure you make a safe assumption. Some of us may come from churches with no heart for missions, but that doesn’t mean that all churches are that way.
@ Aaron - I am sorry I should have clarified the “average” church. That’s why I said “probably.” I am very familiar with many of those churches you mentioned and what they give. I live in the Bible belt of the south and know many churches who do nothing, so I was not knocking the church as a whole, but the average churches who do very little and could do much more. Thanks for helping me clarify.
@Aaron - Be nice now…I think the point Nick is making is that we as the church can always step it up. You’re right, there are plenty of churches who give generously to world missions but according to statistics, we’re not doing enough.
In 2007, the number of children living in poverty increased by 100,000 to 2.9 million (source)
Here’s another interesting fact:
So while many churches are giving, some very sacrificially, to worldwide missions efforts, there is still so much to be done in the church at large.
Great overview Brad. Obviously there are valid points from each side. Then there is also the discussion of how to best help solve worldwide problems. Through clean water, through food, through shelter, through government, through religion? No easy or great solutions.
Tylers last blog post..Make Love Not War
@ Nick and Brad: I wasn’t trying to be mean, just making sure we get our facts straight. “Idol Gives Back” raised $60 million in 2008. I checked one major denomination’s missions giving for 2007? $221 million. And that’s just one denomination. I’m just making sure that gross exaggerations aren’t assumed as fact. I do believe the church can always do more, but let’s not be quite so quick to rip the church. It’s the main tool God gave us to reach the lost. Just my opinion, for whatever it’s worth.
This whole discussion has been awesome. It’s great to see everyone having the ability to offer their own take on the subject. Great post, Brad!
Brad,
First off, a disclosure. I’m a youth minister, a computer guy, and a Starbucks employee. So I’m just saying.
I agree with both of your posts regarding the issue. The benefit to Ethos is that it makes it easy and mindless to help out. Today’s society likes things that are easy and mindless, which is what one of my friends who works at a collection center for the underprivledged said. It’s easy to take a bag of old clothes to Salvation Army, but few people are willing to give up their time to help sort it and make sure it gets to the right people.
Ethos is easy. Could we all do a whole lot more? Sure! But it’s easier not to do so.
So shame on us for not stepping up to help more, but credit to Ethos for trying to do make at least a little difference by taking advantage of our laziness.
Blessings,
Dean
@Aaron - You’re right. There is a fine line between praising the missions efforts of the local church and becoming complacent and think we’re doing enough. Like you said, whether we like it or not the church is God’s vehicle to reach the lost. We can’t shoot the car in the tire because it’s not getting us there quick enough.
@Dean - you bring up a good point, people are complacent and want to feel good about themselves for giving to charities but don’t want the guilt of thinking too hard about it. Like you said, whether or not Ethos is giving as much as we think they should, at least they’re tapping into that market and giving something. $6.2 million isn’t too shabby.
Brad…I’m impressed you write about something as simple as buying a bottle of water and it turns into a huge controversy. I write about Christian’s needing to drink beer and I don’t even get this much of a response. NICE!!!
may I suggest 3 things:
1) Missions giving is NOT the same as giving to help the third world. While I agree it’s more important to get ppl saved than to improve their standard of living, I do not equate what American Idol does with Missions giving. We need to be doing more of the American Idol thing, in my opinion, to get more ppl saved = they are still beating us.
2) Most of the money we tithe, goes to support buildings and programs and staff, and not meeting peoples’ physical needs, probably over 90%. No wonder the world sees us as uncaring and irrelevant.
3)the “C”hurch is not a tool. The whole body is the Church, not just a bunch of buildings and a very small number of pastors - although “churches” seem to be our only (maybe just the most visible?) expression of The Church.
I think “The Church” needs to stop relinquishing its responsibility to a small subset of Christians with flashy people skills and speaking abilities. - I agree with you, Nick.
This is a very serious and important issue to discuss.
jesse phillipss last blog post..Francis’ Crazy Building Project
Holy cow. You have more commenters on a blog than I’ve ever seen. Except like Swerve or Los, this thing is exploding.
My biggest hangup with Ethos is that they are selling charity and laughing all the way to the bank.
Dang, and to think this whole conversation started with me picking up a bottle of water at Starbucks!
[...] new blog friend Brad Ruggles had this post and this post on his blog for the past couple of days. The conversations have been great, a little rough at [...]
I realy thought that the post that would get you in trouble was the tampon post… lol
Check out what Mars Hill is doing about the water problem… http://www.marshill.org/water/
THEY are hiring scientists, they are contracting with agencies to find the cheapest ways to make the biggest splash (deliberate pun.)
I dig this, because it is treating the act of giving like business, where people are looking for ways to get the maximum impact from their giving. That is brilliance in action, and I have to confess it reminds me of the parable of the talents more than a lot of sermons I have heard on the topic.
ScottMochas last blog post..40 Day Fast 2008 - Viva Le Dieu (God Lives)
Had no idea about that Mars Hill deal - that’s crazy. I agree with Scott - business folks know how to maximize resources for the largest result.
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I was just reading my friends blog at http://www.morethandodgeball.com and was reminded what the student ministry does out at Saddleback. They have containers set up all around campus to collect plastic bottles. They are able to purchase 1 Bible per every 10 Bottles recycled. Here is the link to a post talking about how they are gearing up to push the campaign during their Save the Planet Series this summer. http://www.morethandodgeball.com/?p=3748
Nicks last blog post..Small Steps to Making Huge Impacts
@GregQualls, that’s because Christians *should* drink beer. Or at least feel free to. Nothing to debate there!