Boycott - Jewish Mandate

I've chosen to participate in the 24-hour economic blackout today, the nationwide boycott to protest the current administration's economic policies and mass layoffs of governmental workers. It does not feel like enough, but it is something and a place to start. I see protest, even in small ways, as a Jewish obligation.  Our tradition tells us that it's not okay to sit back and not act. 

We can not simply retreat. . .
Babylonian Talmud Taanit, 11a
At a time when the community is suffering, no one should say, "I will go home, eat, drink, and be at peace with myself."
 
We must protest. . .
Talmud Shabbat tells us that we must protest when we see wrongdoing, otherwise we are culpable for the wrongdoing . “In any event, they said: Anyone who had the capability to effectively protest the sinful conduct of the members of his household and did not protest, he himself is apprehended for the sins of the members of his household and punished. If he is in a position to protest the sinful conduct of the people of his town, and he fails to do so, he is apprehended for the sins of the people of his town. If he is in a position to protest the sinful conduct of the whole world, and he fails to do so, he is apprehended for the sins of the whole world.”
 
We should live our daily lives by our principles; anything else is not kosher. . .
Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, who was one of the only Orthodox rabbis to support Caesar Chavez explained that while technically all vegetables are kosher, those produced “under exploitative conditions” should be regarded as nonkosher.  He championed the idea of ethical kashrut, purchasing and consuming based on ethical principles.  (Kashrut is the Hebrew for kosher, or the guidelines of what can be consumed.