Would you give up the ability to text ttyl to your BFF in order to save an entire species from going extinct?
(Some of the hidden costs of our for-profit addictions)
In a recent conversation, the topic of consumerism organically arose. More specifically, we talked about the mostly ignored costs of our dependence on electronic devices.
This reminded me of something I used to do at all my many public talks back in the pre-smartphone 2000s.
Below is the basic transcript of what I’d say to my audiences when it came time for me to request that they (supposedly) turn off their phones.
We’ve reached the point in the evening when the speaker typically implores everyone to turn off their cell phones. But, as far as I’m concerned, you can leave yours on. This way, every time someone’s phone goes off, we can focus on these six simple words: The Democratic Republic of the Congo.
We’d do that because one of the primary components of cell phone circuitry is a metallic ore called columbite-tantalite — a.k.a. “coltan.”
Eighty percent of the world’s known coltan can be found in the African nation of The Democratic Republic of the Congo (or DRC), which just so happens to be embroiled in an on-and-off brutal (even by current standards) civil war since the pre-cell phone days of 1994.
Over time, all sides in this unrelenting barbarism adroitly began using the mining and sale of coltan not only to nourish the West’s seemingly insatiable cell phone addiction but also to fund their unyielding mayhem — which included/includes the use of child soldiers (see image up top).
Civilian deaths in the DRC during this combat — mostly from war-related disease and malnutrition — are estimated not in the hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands, but rather in the millions. As in 5.4 million. This makes it the world's deadliest military conflict since the Second World War.
But wait… there’s more: Just ask an Eastern Lowland Gorilla.
The world’s largest primate, found almost exclusively in the DRC, has seen its population numbers plummet by as much as 90 percent. This is due to the civil war, illegal mining of minerals used for electronic device components, and the growing bush meat trade.
We can only hope that some enterprising entrepreneur has already recorded the eastern lowland gorilla’s call to be used as a ringtone long after they’re gone.
So yeah, feel free to leave your phones on…
Side quest: It’s interesting and important to note that the scope of destruction in the DRC over the past 30 years has yet to inspire anyone to grandstand at the Oscars or light themselves on fire. But I digress…
Some 15 years after I’d present the above rant, the device I’m writing this on and the device you’re reading this on almost certainly contain some combination of tin, coltan, tungsten, and gold.
The DRC is overwhelmed by violence and poverty yet it sits on about $24 trillion worth of such minerals.
Spoiler alert: This type of diabolical paradigm — widespread slaughter, the exploitation of children, the world’s largest primate being pushed into extinction, and massive corporations pocketing untold profits — is not a preordained theology or an unstoppable force of nature.
It’s the result of decisions made by human beings. From the wicked men who assemble the blueprint to the Average Joe and Jane who are conditioned to not explore where their “consumer goods” come from, we all share levels of blame.
Human beings are born with a tendency toward community, compassion, and cooperation. To counter this inherent empathy, we are consciously programmed to the point where we will line up on Thanksgiving evening just to fight our way toward purchasing a “cheap” cell phone — never giving a second thought to what made this “deal” possible.
I’m not here to guilt you (or myself) into surrendering our devices because, as things currently stand, you and I can’t yet directly help any of the victims mentioned above.
But we most definitely can commit to new ways of thinking and living.
We can take active steps to analyze our own choices and do the work to discern if our beliefs are truly “ours.”
We can open our minds and hearts to others — even when their viewpoints differ.
We can have eyes to see and ears to hear what is being intentionally hidden from us.
We can reject the easy trap of getting caught up in fruitless symbolic gestures and virtue signaling.
We can keep our guard up so we’re not such easy prey for sinister agents seeking to manipulate our minds, splinter our solidarity, and sabotage our souls.
We can renounce the seductive lure of groupthink to rediscover the subversive pleasure of critical, sovereign thought.
There’s plenty we can do.
After all, my friends, we have a spiritual war to win…
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Sigh. Deep, deep sigh. And, thank you Mickey for shining light where it needs to be shone.