Is There A Safe Middle Ground - Thoughts on Bad Corporate Citizens

This afternoon a Facebook post I shared, which was commented on by someone else, got me thinking.  I feel as if there are two schools of thought where corporations like BP, Monsanto or Walmart are concerned. The first says they must be stopped, or made to change their behaviors.  The second school of thought says we can't rock the boat because it's "bad for the economy."

In each case, there is significant evidence to show that these corporations are not....let's go with the corporate euphemism.....they are not "good corporate citizens."  This is all the more ironic since they are considered a "person" under certain statutes of the law.

Another oil spill a few days ago by a BP refinery into Lake Michigan is just the latest in a series of consistent problems from this corporation, despite their lovely commercials. Some people I know haven't even heard of this latest spill.  I guess if it's not coming up on the beaches where you live, it doesn't matter, right?  We certainly found our voices when it came to some windmills on Cape Cod....but since this is Michigan and most of us don't live there....

Monsanto's GMO crops are banned in over 60 countries and here in the United States, they are spending inordinate amounts of money to avoid simply LABELING FOOD AS GMO.   They are also the creators and distributors of herbicides on the market currently linked by scientists to recent problems with severely declining populations of both Monarch Butterflies and bees.  Maybe you aren't worried about Monarch Butterflies, although I am.  You OUGHT TO BE worried about bees.  They pollinate your food supply. Last I heard, Monsanto wanted to sue the entire state of Vermont over labeling.

Walmart seems to be the place to go if you want to save money on your grocery bill, right?  No matter that once again, they have a consistent, ongoing record of problems with how employees are treated and not providing what many of us would consider a decent living wage.

I believe that we have a responsibility to demand that corporations balance profit and being good corporate citizens. This should be a symbiotic relationship.  You are providing jobs and needed services to the community, and conducting business in a responsible, competitive manner that allows for a profit. This provides growth and security to your employees and if applicable, your shareholders.

We have every right as citizens to expect and demand that corporations operate in our communities in a manner that takes into account the decent treatment of each human being, basic health and safety, and environmental concerns.  If they are not, we must demand change.  If our elected officials cannot or will not help us to make this happen, then we do not re-elect them.  We ask questions. We find out who is financing what and for whom?  Who is donating to what campaigns?

What corporations have former government officials worked for, officials who are now making decisions that benefit their former place of employment?  This isn't paranoia, it's a matter of public record. Do what I've done. Look it up, check sources. Care.

I am tired of hearing that we can't do anything about this.  I'm sick of everyone saying the economy will come crashing down if we stop subsidizing big oil, put controls on big oil's day to day operations, raise the minimum wage, or put limitations on Monsanto simply because we want to know what we are eating.

Let me get this straight.  We can put people in space, manipulate the workings inside a single human cell and map DNA.  But it's COMPLETELY IMPOSSIBLE to expect that changes be made requiring corporations to be good corporate citizens and stop them from doing things that are detrimental to our health, our environment and in violation of basic human decency?

That's bullshit, pure and simple.

And I feel that we are being willing little sheep if we are not taking it upon ourselves to be informed, to not get stuck on party lines and demand change.  We can vote, we can peacefully protest, we can help inform people, we can write letters, we can make calls.  AND WE CAN STOP SUPPORTING THESE CORPORATIONS AND THEIR PRODUCTS if they refuse to change.  Without the people supporting them, they'd all be done.  Maybe a few of us can't do anything. But millions of ONES can.

If I got you angry with this, good.  I meant to. Call me unrealistic.  Tell me I don't have all the facts. But if you're thinking about it at least, it's a start.