Democracy only works if you work at it. Become a more active citizen with these tips.

While the Presidential election season may have you doubting our political system (not to mention whether you want to remain a citizen of the United States of Trump or not), we actually have a pretty good thing going on here. We may not have the “more perfect Union” envisioned by the founders of our nation, but there are plenty of opportunities for each and every citizen to get involved and contribute to that vision. And there is plenty our Founding Fathers didn’t envision that we can improve upon now, too. So, read on to discover ways that you can become a more active, engaged, and informed citizen.

Be a More Active Citizen

1. Get a library card and check out the library programs.
2. Support and read the local paper.
3. Attend city council meetings.
4. Write letters to the editor of your local paper.
5. Start a blog about local issues.
6. Organize a community garden.
7. Work on raising the awareness around a particular issue impacting your community.
8. Read the Constitution of the United States of America.
9. Volunteer at a local food bank.
10. Learn the laws of your local community.
11. Organize neighbors to influence legislators to overturn unjust laws of your community.
12. Organize neighbors to influence legislators to enact laws that will benefit your community.
13. Visit and support local parks and other open spaces.
14. Volunteer on local clean up days to help keep your community beautiful.
15. Regularly contact legislators to let know them know your views on upcoming legislation.
16. Join the social media platform Nextdoor to connect with your neighbors.
17. Join organizations like the League of Women Voters, Americans for Democratic Action, Common Cause, and others dedicated to protecting open and transparent government.
18. Attend school board meetings–even if you don’t have children.
19. Learn about your community’s history at your local historical society and/or history museum.
20. Check out your community’s calendar of events for ways you can get involved.
21. Support local businesses by frequenting them and organizing shop local events to raise the importance of shopping locally.
22. Attend performances of the local ballet, theater, musical, and other local cultural groups.
23. Walk or bike where and when you can to get to know your neighbors and your community.
24. Start a Little Free Library.
25. Volunteer as a volunteer firefighter, mentor, or neighborhood watch member.

Related on EcoSalon

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7 Simple Community-Building Ideas for a Greener Space

Community kids image via Shutterstock

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A symbol of love, with a possible history of war.

“A diamond is forever.” It’s one of the 20th century’s most enduring marketing campaigns, one that inextricably linked the precious stone with marriage and commitment.

But though diamonds are a symbol of romance in the Western world, their origins are often far from romantic. Two-thirds of the world’s diamonds are mined in Africa, many in conflict zones where their sale is used to fund the operations of warlords and dictators. And although certification schemes have been set up to stop the distribution of these so-called “conflict” or “blood” diamonds, recent reports suggest that such programs have been ineffective.

With wedding season in full swing and new engagements now front-and-center on our Facebook feeds, we thought we’d look beyond the glimmer and into the realities of the global diamond trade.

But first, a little history on why diamonds are such a crucial element of new engagements. The precious stone was a scarcity until the 1870s, when large diamond mines were discovered by the Orange River in South Africa. This discovery could have drastically sunk the market for diamonds, reducing them to semi-precious gemstones, had the diamond miners not merged their interests into a single entity, which they called De Beers. According to an article in The Atlantic, De Beers proved to be the most successful cartel arrangement in modern commerce, which it achieved by controlling prices, limiting supply, and perpetuating the aspirational qualities of diamonds.

Both women and men had to be made to perceive diamonds not as marketable precious stones but as an inseparable part of courtship and married life. To stabilize the market, De Beers had to endow these stones with a sentiment that would inhibit the public from ever reselling them. The illusion had to be created that diamonds were forever – ‘forever’ in the sense that they should never be resold.

According to the article, De Beers decided to focus its marketing efforts on the United States, and in 1938 it enlisted N.W. Ayer, New York’s leading advertising agency, to create a new marketing campaign for the mighty gemstone. After conducting extensive market research, the agency suggested a promotion strategy centered around linking diamonds with romantic commitment. 

Since ‘young men buy over 90% of all engagement rings’ it would be crucial to inculcate in them the idea that diamonds were a gift of love: the larger and finer the diamond, the greater the expression of love. Similarly, young women had to be encouraged to view diamonds as an integral part of any romantic courtship.

The campaign was remarkably successful, and today the United States is the largest consumer of diamond jewelry in the world.

The Good

The global demand for diamonds has turned mining into a highly profitable but heavily abused industry, one that has played an instrumental role in both attracting investment to African nations and, ironically, funding conflicts and warfare.

In 1998, Global Witness, a watchdog group that focuses on natural resources, published the first major report linking the diamond trade with civil wars in Angola. The report brought attention to the concept of “blood diamonds” or “conflict diamonds,” diamonds that are mined in a war zone and sold abroad to finance violent conflict and human rights abuses. According to Global Witness, the diamond trade has played a major role in financing wars in Angola, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The report and subsequent resolutions from the United Nations raised enough global awareness that in 2000, the World Diamond Council began discussing ways to block sales of conflict diamonds on the global market. The result, approved in 2003, was the Kimberley Process, a certification scheme adopted by 75 of the world’s diamond producing, trading, and manufacturing countries. In order to be accepted into the consortium, a country has to certify that its diamonds are not financing rebel groups or other entities seeking to overthrow UN-recognized governments. All invoices must contain the following statement:

The diamonds herein invoiced have been purchased from legitimate sources not involved in funding conflict and in compliance with United Nations resolutions. The seller hereby guarantees that these diamonds are conflict free, based on personal knowledge and/or written guarantees provided by the supplier of these diamonds.

The Bad

While the Kimberley Process was created with the best intentions, it soon became clear that the task of regulating the conflict diamond trade was more difficult than anticipated. Over the past decade, the Kimberley Process has been widely criticized for its ineffectiveness at enforcing regulations. In particular, NGOs and watchdog groups have been critical of the Kimberley Process decision to approve diamonds mined in the Marange fields of Zimbabwe, a zone that has reported frequent violence and human rights abuses at the hands of the military.

One by one, participants like Partnership Africa Canada and the African Diamond Council have withdrawn their support. And in 2011, Global Witness, a founding member, announced that it was leaving the organization entirely, citing the KP’s “refusal to evolve and address the clear links between diamonds, violence and tyranny.” In a public statement, Global Witness director Charmian Gooch explained the decision to withdraw:

The scheme has failed three tests: it failed to deal with the trade in conflict diamonds from Côte d’Ivoire, was unwilling to take serious action in the face of blatant breaches of the rules over a number of years by Venezuela and has proved unwilling to stop diamonds fueling corruption and violence in Zimbabwe. It has become an accomplice to diamond laundering – whereby dirty diamonds are mixed in with clean gems.

Gooch also noted:

Nearly nine years after the Kimberley Process was launched, the sad truth is that most consumers still cannot be sure where their diamonds come from, nor whether they are financing armed violence or abusive regimes.

So What Now?

As the world’s leading consumers of diamond jewelry, Americans have the power to call for change in the diamond industry – or alter the demand for diamonds entirely. One way to start is by shifting the way we think about diamonds in relation to weddings and marriage. If you’re looking to tie the knot in the near future, here are some ways you can avoid introducing conflict into the equation.

Find a jeweler with independent certification processes.

There are a handful of jewelers that specialize in conflict-free stones and metals. Brilliant Earth carefully sources its diamonds from mines with strict labor and environment regulations in Canada, Namibia, and Botswana. The Earthwise collection from Leber Jeweler also contains diamonds mined in Canada, along with recycled precious metals.

Go vintage.

Shopping for rings in antique and vintage jewelry stores can be a great way to add meaning and history to the occasion. Or, go the traditional route and ask to use a ring that has been passed down in your family.

Buck tradition.

Diamonds are the traditional symbol of commitment – but who says you have to be traditional? Rather than select the typical princess-cut platinum ring from Tiffany & Co., try exchanging alternative tokens of affection, like handmade gifts. In addition to being more personal, it’ll also be a way to ensure that your symbol of eternal love and commitment is not tainted with a legacy of war and conflict.

SEE ALSO:

Behind the Mother’s Day Flower Trade

Behind the Label: Avon’s Crusade Against Breast Cancer

Behind the Label: Tommy Hilfiger’s Promise Collection

Check out all Behind the Label columns here.

Images: Photography King

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A weekly look at sex and culture, by the numbers.

Number of sitting American presidents who currently support same-sex marriage: 1

250,000: Number of federal government employees who have completed an official survey that includes, for the first time, questions about sexual orientation and gender identity

55-0: Votes in favor of the Gender Identity bill in Argentina’s senate, recognizing sex-reassignment surgery and hormone therapy as a necessary part of health care

12%: Number of mothers between the ages of 18 and 35 who claimed to have checked their phones during sex

Average length of American engagements: 1 year and 2 months

Average cost of an American wedding: $27,021

“In the millions”: Alleged amount John Edwards’ aides considered selling his sex tape with Rielle Hunter for after the initial story broke

Image: Dave Newman

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Who am I to argue with the Madison Avenue suits who coined the phrase “diamonds are a girl’s best friend”?

If only diamonds were all we believe them to be. The violence resulting from the diamond mining and trading industry is, in a word, tragic. And, as it turns out, diamonds aren’t even as valuable as we’ve been told.

First, a little primer:

The U.S. happens to be the largest consumer of conflict diamonds, purchasing over $33.7 billion dollars’ worth of the rocks in 2005. Wondering what conflict diamonds are? I’m no fawning fan of DiCaprio, but the film “Blood Diamond” is nowhere near as fictional as we’d like it to be. Conflict diamonds involve abuse, corruption and death. There goes that gorgeous, shimmery, sparkling stone set in platinum I’ve been dreaming about.

Here are several important reasons you should never, ever buy (or accept) a diamond:

We’ve been conditioned to want a diamond. Pavlov much? Who isn’t tired of the advertising and marketing ploys used to brainwash us into believing our value as women rests on the size of our…gem? (Toss that in with measurements and marital status and we’ve got an endless supply of not-good-enough.) Marketers have thrown us a giant, glittering bone, and watched the profits pile up as we’ve chased, fetched and rolled over in order to conform to what we’ve been conditioned to believe is the only acceptable standard.

Diamond prices have been artificially inflated by the diamond cartel. The average diamond sold in the U.S. has been over-graded in quality by 2 grades, and the average U.S. couple pays twice what they should for an engagement ring. Do you really want to enter into a lifelong commitment with a man who’s willing to waste his hard-earned cash on a diamond, especially when said diamond is ridiculously overpriced? Okay, well, me too. Forget number 2 and let’s move on to the third reason to avoid diamonds.

Diamonds are anything but an “investment”. A 1-carat diamond will set him back about $5,000, which amounts to $710,000 per ounce. Worse even than a car once it’s driven off the sales lot, a diamond will never be worth what you’ve paid for it. Try to trade it or sell it or pawn it and you’ll be sorely disappointed. Do you know why? Because their “worth” has been artificially inflated! Diamonds aren’t scarce or rare.

Just don’t tell him this until after it’s on your finger. (Kidding!)

Conflict diamonds. Any lover shallow enough to buy you a diamond to “make up” for misbehavin’ ways is indeed dumb enough to think that the name “conflict diamonds” refers to relationship issues. Ditch that man and his diamonds…fast. Blood diamonds have resulted in over 4 million deaths in Angola, Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Ivory Coast. One shiny rock, 4 million lives.

Diamonds with strings attached. Did you know that only 11 percent of U.S. jewelry stores practice a conflict diamonds policy and 67 percent won’t even discuss the topic when asked if they have one? Just because he bought you dinner, I mean a diamond, doesn’t mean you have to marry him. Presents aren’t promises, and kisses aren’t for keeps.

Diamond mines damage the environment. This is important, even though it’s true of all types of mining, not just diamond mining. Mines are dangerous for workers (including children) and threaten our planet, too. I wish there were a way to dig that deep without so much damage.

And last but definitely not least…

A diamond is not forever. Nothing is forever, my friends. Engagements, marriages, jobs, you name it. If they happen to last a long time, then you are indeed a very lucky person. Why do we kid ourselves into believing that a sparkling rock, delivered to us on the backs of the abused, purchased for more than it’s worth, marketed for more than it means and obtained at the expense of our own dear planet will keep love alive?

And please tell me why I still melt, just a little, at the sight of a beautiful, shimmering diamond ring perched on a shelf in a store window.

(Lastly, did you know? There are some great alternatives: you can buy vintage diamonds – at a fraction of the cost! – and retailers like Brilliant Earth and Green Karat are eco-friendly and cruelty-free, too.)

Each week here at EcoSalon, the editors choose a post from the archives that we think you’ll love. The original post can be found here.

Images: fashionjewelry, stephend9, ruby-jade-sapphire-pearl, smh, nyinquirer, starryskies, hairdecor, hourglass diamond

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