Globalization in Our Living Rooms
Globalization is all around us. Understanding globalization in all its manifestations and its impact on our lives is not just something interesting to think about, it means taking responsibility for our future and the future of our children. It is an act of faithfulness to God's transforming action in history.
Over the past year, globalization has come into the living room of everyone in the United States who owns a television set and watches almost any news program.
Images of the War in Iraq
No matter where we live in the United States, we are likely to know someone who has been directly affected by the war in Iraq. War and the policies of economic globalization are intimately connected. We have traveled with reporters "embedded" with U.S. troops, almost able to view the war through their eyes. Global media shown us the face of privatization:
- In the companies with large U.S. government contracts that provide food and other basic supplies to troops working to rebuild Iraq's oil capacity;
- In corporations like CACI International, Inc. that worked alongside the U.S. military in the interrogation of prisoners at places like Abu Ghraib prison.
Images of the Realities of U.S. Immigration
The makeup of communities is changing. Economic push and pull factors mean that immigrants from many different countries are now to be found in unlikely places: small towns like Monett, Missouri as well as cities like New York and Los Angeles.Fueled by the policies of free trade, privatization and direct foreign investment, the immigration debate is clearly before us if we care to pay attention. We have seen many perspectives of the immigration debate:
- In the presence of minutemen standing guard on the border with Mexico;
- In the construction of the wall built to keep Mexicans from crossing into the United States;
- In footage and photos of protesters outside labor offices where immigrant workers gather;
- In the voices of thousands of immigrant demonstrators in the streets of cities across the United States shouting "Si, Se Puede" ("Yes, It is possible").
Mission Study Update: Additional Resources
This update for the mission study on globalization offers additional and supplemental resources that expand or supplement the study book Globalization and Its Impact on People's Lives.
- Explore the issues more deeply with additional and supplemental one-hour session plans;
- Expand your understanding of the vocabulary of globalization;
- Extend your study with more resources;
- Engage in deeper biblical reflection and prayer;
- Explore case studies of how United Methodists have responded.