I spent 29 long hours traveling from my home in New Jersey to my second home, Indonesia.  I have come here to continue the fight I began 15 years ago.  A fight to get get the workers who make Nike products the justice they deserve - justice in the form of a living wage.

In the course of these 15 years, there have been times I have had my doubts.  Have I chosen the right fight?  Is Nike the right target?  Can we really win?

With regard to choosing the right fight… I have.  Rather, it was chosen for me.  I firmly believe that the God of justice, the God that stands on the side of the poor and oppressed, the God that cries out to the rich and powerful to humble themselves and love their neighbor - or in this case, their factory workers - this God has called me to be a warrior, to stay committed, and to see this calling through until victory or death.

With regard to my doubt of whether or not Nike is the right target, they are, of this, I am sure.

On my flight from Hong Kong to Jakarta, I met and spoke with two apparel company executives.  They were both buyers, middlemen between the factories and companies like Nike.  Both of these execs stated emphatically that the blame for the cause of the injustice that workers face - poverty wages - can and should be laid at the feet of the big brands; not the factories, not the buyers, but big brands like Nike.  They basically said that whatever Nike wants, Nike gets.  And what Nike wants in this case is to always cut costs and maximize profits, regardless of how this may impact human beings.  Going further, I firmly believe that the blame lay with Nike executives.  These cutthroat capitalists, these economic savages who worship at the altar of greed, do anything they must to maximize profits for Nike.  So, do I believe that Nike is the right target?  Absolutely.

Can we change this?  Can we really win?  The reality is that we are at war.  And through their horrifically exploitative actions, Nike has made themselves the enemy.  But in this war, our goal is not to destroy or punish the enemy.  Our goal is to love our enemy - with tough love.  We must continue to hold the raw truth of Nike’s greed right in their face.  Like loving family members who are intervening with a drug addict, we must tell the executives at Nike the truth and show them the pain and suffering they are causing.  And most importantly, we must show them a way out.

But what is the way out?  It is simple.  Nike must pay all their factory workers a living wage. Period.  Is this unrealistic?  Maybe.  Is it idealistic?  Possibly.  But will it happen?  Can we really win?  Yes.  Plain and simple, yes.