Do
we change the world by getting political (demonstrating, writing
letters to the editor, civil disobedience, testifying at hearings,
endorsing the best candidates for office, running for office, etc.)?
Yes, we must!
AND, we can't stop there! We must also change the way we live our life,
a not so simple job, but at least it's one where we don't get in the
face of others. Examples of the little things that mean a lot are:
recycling, using mass transit, buying local, boycotting the non-local
when possible, using LCD lightbulbs, planting an organic garden, etc.
The trouble is that on this earth, we most frequently find ourselves doing one or the other, but seldom do folks do both.
I
remember once I was going to a weekly community environmental group's
meeting in which we talked about air pollution. Hypocritically,
however, I smoked a cigarette on the way there, and lit up on the way
home. Plus I drove alone when I could have carpooled.
Likewise,
I know people who live model lives by choosing to live in voluntary
simplicity. This type of lifestyle can often become all consuming.
There are always new ways we can live more simple lives and therefore
consuming less energy. However, these folks are often so wrapped up in
this lifestyle that no letters are written to editors, comments aren't
made regarding regulatory changes in air pollution laws or water
quality laws, voting for the best candidates doesn't happen. Many of
these well-meaning people almost become isolationists. I can almost
hear them saying,"I got my life taken care of. Now if everyone did what
I did, there would be no air pollution or water pollution. So get with
the program yourself. I'm busy."
So no matter what route you choose to take, if it is only one of the two options above, NOTHING WILL CHANGE.
FOLKS,
WE HAVE A BIG PROBLEM FACING THE FUTURE OF OUR PLANET. IT'S BIGGER THAN
WHAT THE DEMONSTRATOR OR THE SUSTAINABLE LIVING ENTHUSIAST CAN CHANGE
ALONE.
THE ONLY WAY WE
WILL SEE CHANGE IS WHEN THE SIMPLE SUSTAINABLE PRACTITIONER GETS
POLITICAL, AND WHEN THE POLITICAL PERSON GETS SUSTAINABLE!
THE TIME FOR CHOICE IS OVER. BOTH EFFORTS BY EVERYONE IS CRUCIAL!
IF YOU THINK NOT, YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM!
Remember the old saying, "No one ever said that life was easy?" I say, "No one ever said saving the planet would be easy!"
I
know all the excuses why you and others find it hard to bring about
change in our own personal lives while also trying to bring about
national and global change through the political process. I hear too
often:
"I just don't have time to recycle, to take mass transit, to blank, to blank or to blank." (You fill in the blank.)
"I
just don't have time to leave my garden, besides going to town wastes
energy. Besides, they're going to do what they want to do no matter how
much I get involved."
"I'm tired of getting in people's faces. Let you political folks do that. It's not for me."
"Hey, I'm teaching the young ones. That's enough."
"If I get political, I'll embarrass my husband or my family, and they won't like it."
"Recycling is so stupid! Everyone knows that it all goes in the landfill anyway."
"Why grow my own garden? I have no intention of learning how to cook!"
"Why waste my time in the political arena? They're all just a bunch of crooks anyway!"
"I'm too old."
"I did my part. Now it's your turn."
"I'm too young."
"I don't want to get my hands dirty by mixing with politics."
"I'm too stupid to talk to my legislator."
"I don't have property, so there's nothing I can do to live a more sustainable life."
I've
said many of the above excuses myself during my life, and that's what
they were....excuses for not wanting to extend my life's efforts, to
sacrifice for the common good for the planet.
I suspect that
some people are more inclined to change their personal lives or to get
political, but few of us are inclined to do both. Some of us are
inclined to do neither.
One very personal gripe I have is toward
those who do fabulous jobs at living model lives of conservation and
care of the environment in their own back yard, but refuse to dirty
their hands in the political realm. Many truly believe that they live
in a perfect little corner of the world, and if the world goes to hell,
their little corner will remain intact.
Not so! We all drink the
same water and breathe the same air. Our land can become contaminated
by what happens up or down the road. War can affect all of us, whether
we're in the streets fighting it or in our fields tilling the beans.
All of our families can lose loved ones from wars. We can all find
ourselves in horrible debt when the economy goes bad. We can all be hit
by an epidemic. We all suffer when healthcare becomes unaffordable.
What is the good to recycle when all recycling centers close down or
recycling is not longer a national priority?
EVERYTHING IN LIFE IS POLITICAL! PERIOD! NO WAY AROUND IT!
We
can all do something to bring about true social change through the
political area, so our personal lives can be productive in the
sustainability movement. . In college I read Voltaire's Candide. I
was taken in with the final chapter where I remembered that I was
instructed that to care for my little garden was all that I needed to
do. All else was futile and a waste of time. However, Wikipedia has
this to say about that final chapter:
Another of the primary Candide
debates concerns the degree to which Voltaire was advocating a
pessimistic philosophy, by which Candide and his companions give up
hope for a better world, as compared to a melioristic
philosophy which resigns the travelers to commit themselves to
improving the world through metaphorical gardening. There is debate as
to whether Voltaire was prescribing passive retreat from society, or
active industrious contribution to it.
So I go with the
last philosophy. For our grandchildren's sakes, we cannot just retreat
from society while we attend to our garden. No, we must attend to our
garden while we actively and industriously contribute to its betterment
by optimistically calling for social, environmental and economic change
through its regulatory, diplomatic, legislative, judicial and corporate
actions.
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