Am I Robbing My Neighbor?

by Beena Thomas

“Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him"

"Do not steal"

I don’t intentionally rob my roommate or the person living in the next apartment. So what do I do with this?

I’m having a little trouble thinking every human being can essentially be a neighbor to me. With the phenomenon of globalization, the world is smaller than ever before. So, somebody on the other side of the planet, someone that I’ll never meet can be my neighbor. If so, what are some ways by which I can “love” them? Am I robbing them unknowingly? After watching this video (http://www.storyofstuff.com/) found on a blog that I read regularly, I think I’m indirectly robbing many. I'm not an expert on the topic of environment, government, or business. But I feel guilty after watching this. So what can I do? I hope to recycle more in the future. I hope to discipline myself to acquire less stuff. What else can I do? There's gotta be more. I can't think of any now. Am I stealing resources from the future inhabitants of the earth when I leave the TV/light on night just because I was lazy to get up to turn it off. I guess I just need more discipline.