When it’s Time to Change then it’s Time to Change

-
As a teenager, just getting my footing in regards to socio-political issues, I considered myself a liberal Republican. My knowledge of history and current events was clouded by family tradition, education, and media. Not by an education or media with a dichotomous political bent, mind you. That dichotomy is immaterial compared to the singular world view that actually exists. My knowledge, as everyone’s in the western world, was biased toward a particular way of life: a way of life that is destroying the planet and all of its inhabitants, a way of life that is physically, psychologically, and emotionally fatal, a way of life that is usurping the globe.

I didn't have a single epiphany and suddenly discover I was a Democrat. I had a lifelong learning curve (still in progress) that has led me to understand that the only solution to our problems exists far outside the simple, contented duopoly we have created.

Our model for living is not sustainable for us as individuals and certainly not for future generations. In the words of Bill McDonough and Ray Anderson, it is

intergenerational tyranny, the worst form of remote tyranny, a kind of taxation without representation across the generations, levied by us on those yet unborn


Evidence to this truth exists in abundance. Though it may be negative or depressing, we ought to remove our rose-colored glasses, put away our superficial, insular self-help books, and use the dismal truth to heed the call to action. The reason that the Oprahs and Dr. Phils and gurus of the world, despite their tremendous wealth, power, and influence, have not effected positive lasting change on the planet is because they promote action within the comfortable confines of our current cultural paradigm. A little giving here and a little help there, while still separating the personal from the political and still maintaining a corporate-industrial lifestyle, will not save future generations from definite chaos.

The purpose of this blog is to exchange understandings of truths not always promoted by a corporate-controlled society with a certain financial agenda. We don’t have all of the answers, but we are constantly searching and uncovering more and more questions.

There are two things of note that I encountered this weekend:

In a cafe here in New Zealand, I happened upon a program that originated in the United States, BookCrossing.com. One’s read books are left in any public space, tagged and cataloged via this website, for other people to read and spread along again. Sort of like a global library. Sure, it takes away revenue from the author who might otherwise sell another book. But let’s face it; authors rarely make the money on their publications. The corporate publishing conglomerate reaps nearly all the profits while (under most circumstances) plundering and polluting the earth in the process of production. A free, anonymous exchange of published ideas and information seems a noble notion.

My neighbor/landlord loaned me a book that encompasses a variety of topics, with great research and resources, proclaiming, with more eloquence and consideration than what I write here, the oneness of all of our problems and solutions. I’ve only just begun reading the book, but would like to begin sharing it now, nonetheless:

The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight by Thom Hartmann.

It's time to change.

(Note: For now, computers and the Internet {i.e., this blog} enable a fast, free exchange of ideas and information, but that must change too. There should be a time when this technology is obsolete, not because it is replaced with a new model, but because despite some of the positive things it does, it is wreaking mental, social, and environmental havoc on the planet, especially on the poor.)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

When You Play the Plutocrats’ Game, They Win: On Civility and Half Measures

-
Image
Like many Wisconsinites, I am feeling rather dejected after the disappointing August 9 th recall elections. But unlike most of my brothers and sisters, my disappointment stems not so much from the outcome, but from the adherence to propriety and to a faith in inherently corrupt and unjust systems. I was inspired and awed by the spontaneous and sustained uprisings in February and March and solidarity of the people of Wisconsin. Having lived numerous places throughout this country, there is no other place I would have wanted to call home at that moment. I was so proud to be among the protesters and my tendency toward negativity was suspended for a brief period. And then it ended. People went back to work (or unemployment) and though small demonstrations continued, the massive manpower and money was instead redirected toward recalling six Republican state senators and attempting to replace them with Democrats. Though I was surprisingly impressed by the bold stand that the fourteen Demo...
Read more

Our Way of Life is the Public Health Crisis

-
Image
Years ago, when I taught science to junior high school students, I would sometimes make an offhand remark to the effect of “Animals like us….”   One or more students would respond, “Miss, we’re not animals!”   I doubt my adolescent students were alone in misunderstanding their place in the biological kingdom. The disconnect between humanity and the natural world, to which every living thing belongs, characterizes all industrialized nations. Our Western prioritization of artificial systems (economy) over natural systems (ecology) laid the groundwork for our perilous conditions. We were in crisis before this novel coronavirus pandemic, and we will continue to be in crisis after. It’s a classic tragedy, with our hubris and ignorance leading to the near-term extinction of our species, because our values and paradigms remain rooted in fantasy instead of reality. Ecological degradation for economic growth We should all find it ironic that the economic condition wh...
Read more

Delusion and Denial Part 1: Work, Jobs, Careerism, Charity

-
Image
Demotivator courtesy Despair, Inc:. http://www.despair.com/teamwork.html By the way, if anyone here is in advertising or marketing – kill yourself. ---Bill Hicks I am no aficionado of Superman, but I must admit, I am one of “Seinfeld.” With reference to the latter and by default, the former: Everything around me these days makes me feel like I am living in Bizarro World. Everything is exactly the opposite of what it should be. To quote fictional Jerry, “…In the backwards Bizarro World….Up is down. Down is up. He says hello when he leaves, goodbye when he arrives.” The only problem is that unlike in “Seinfeld” this Bizarro World is far from hilarious. I find nothing much less bizarre than our notions of jobs and work. Because we westerners premise every aspect of our lives on money and the economy, we are all (but a very select elite few) wage slaves who have become totally and utterly dependent on working for an income in order to pay for our basic necessities of life. Part of ...
Read more