I was marveling about our modern society the other day. We live a life of leisure compared to our ancestors of a hundred years ago. Our roles are largely of this strange category called “consumers,” which can be defined as “those who consume.” We have built a society where we have insulated ourselves from the source of many of the things we enjoy in our lives.
If I’m hungry for chicken, I don’t have to hunt for one. Someone else raises it, slaughters it, processes it, trucks it to my city, cooks it, and serves it to me, all in exchange for my money. My hands stay clean.
I don’t have to get involved in North Carolina’s death penalty debate. Someone else catches criminals, tries them, convicts them, incarcerates them, and executes them, all in exchange for my money. My hands stay clean.
The same goes for the quest for energy. Someone else digs out the coal from the earth, transports it to the power station, transforms it into electrons through burning, filters the toxins in the air it produces, and delivers it to my house, all in exchange for my money. My hands stay clean.
With such a division of labor, my direct involvement becomes limited to the final product. How does the power company know I prefer clean power? How does the state know I prefer they not kill people to teach others not to kill? How do I accept the hundreds of chickens that died to satisfy my hunger? Instead a wonderful fantasy exists where someone else is responsible.