Peter_Schwartzman

Do we remember the day “BOTH POLES WENT CRAZY”?

Yes, think back a year ago. Do you remember the day? It may be the most significant event to occur in our lifetimes. Yet, most of us don’t remember it. Is this a sign that we are genetically “programmed” to ignore a “fire” of this magnitude or that we are corporately programmed to focus on much more mundane and irrelevant (yet profitable) things?

The weekend of March 19-20, 2022, both Earth’s poles saw temperature variability on a scale unprecedented. Both the North Pole and the South Pole exceed their normal temperatures by over 50 degrees Fahrenheit! Yes, that is right! Read about it here: LINK. It got very little coverage by the media and it took several days for the information to be communicated, if it was shared at all.

The year anniversary of this extraordinary event occurs later this month. Do you think anyone will remember? How can we expect to make sufficient headway when something of this significance happens on the only planet we have to live on and we collectively barely blink?

What can you/we do? The list of the things we can all do is very long, just do a “google search” on “ways to reduce climate change’s risks”? They are all one “click” away but the vast majority of us won’t do this search and don’t think anything we can do matters. Let me suggest this: Go to your City Council meeting and ask them to demonstrate what they are doing to reduce the severe consequences that may come with unmitigated climate change. If they look at you with askance, give them some suggestions. I am the mayor in a U.S. city and such requests are not made (people are much more concerned with “goose poop” and “long grass”). And, believe it or not, some politicians actually will do what their constituents will them to do! So, why not “show up”?

Something else you might do? Well, remind people of this ominous event of March 2022. And, rather than leave them in fear, remind them that there are real options to avert the worse impacts of climate change. What are they? Most are rooted in expanding renewable energy resources (solar and wind) and displacing all fossil and nuclear fuels. Check out The Solution Project for a great resource on how this revolution might occur: thesolutionsproject.org. If you haven’t heard of this, or you doubt it can/will happen, ask yourself why? Perhaps a change in attitude is the first step for you, me and others.

Are “Black Lives” and the “Earth’s Life” Incompatible? (or does BLM + EM = LM?)

Seemingly, there are two major movements active right now. The first, “Black Lives Matter” (BLM), highlights the grave injustices that people of color have endured for several centuries and still endure. The second, environmentalism (aka, the Environmental Movement (EM)), demands that humans stem the violence against all forms of life (e.g., the bees, the bats, the gorillas, the whales, the polar bears, etc.) and begin to live with nature, not in domination of nature. How does one reconcile these two important struggles? Do these movements have anything in common? Must they work in separate domains? Are they mutually exclusive? Does one have to take precedence in order to make real progress?

These two movements are actually very connected and interwoven. Once we realize this, they can more clearly work cohesively and in solidarity.

A little history can serve us in understanding these two movements. Recall the “Civil Rights Movement” (CRM), which lasted from the mid-1950s through the 1960s? Recall, when the first Earth Day occurred and the Environmental Protection Agency was launched—in the early 1970s. Yes, the CRM laid the ground work the environmental movement (as well as other key movements—women’s and GLBT)! These two huge movements are, thus, integrally connected.

But, aren’t nearly all environmentalists “White” and well-off and most BLM activists, people of color (POC)? “Not at all,” says research into these questions (see Poon, 2018). In fact, since POC bear the brunt of the worst of environmental degradation (especially globally), it is no surprise many POC care deeply about environmental issues and express this concern through demonstrable action. And as anyone who has been to a BLM event can tell you, there are many Caucasians who are advocates for the justice that BLM demands (though there is obvious some frustration over who is leading the cause, see Mann & Baker, 2020). Stereotypes and preconceptions are sometimes hard to overcome.

But, hold on, “The BLM folks are calling for justice for victims of police brutality and environmentalists are protesting for new energy reform to avert catastrophic climate change (C3). Their causes cannot appear more dissimilar.” But are they really? Actually, they are very similar. Both demand justice. Both demand action, swift and decisive. Both recognize that current economic and political practices must be modified and reimagined. Both want all of us (humans, animals, and plants) to flourish. In particular, both emphasize that the physical and mental welfare of humans matters a great deal.

We can see the overlap and interconnection between BLM and EM most vividly perhaps by considering another movement, the environmental justice (EJ) one. EJ (or Environmental Racism (ER) as it is often referred to) is a fast growing component of mainstream environmentalism. Yet it owns its origin to POC who, in the early 1980s, used non-violent direct action to protest the dumping of PCBs in a rural (minority) community of North Carolina. More recent examples of EJ (or ER) struggles can be found in Flint, Michigan (water contamination) and New Orleans, Louisiana (climate justice).

Additionally, some of the most prominent environmentalists are POC as well. Robert Bullard, the most prolific author in the EJ arena, is an African-American who grew up in rural Alabama. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Hispanic Congresswoman, is one of the most aggressive promoters of the Green New Deal. David Suzuki, one of the most famous environmentalists and author of more than a dozen books, is Asian-Canadian. Winona LaDuke, who ran for U.S. Vice President twice, works tirelessly for many environmental causes (Honor the Earth and the White Earth Land Recovery Project) and is an Ojibwe Native American living in Minnesota. Globally, obviously, most environmental work is performed by POC—Wangari Maathai (Kenya), Ken Saro-Wiwa (Nigeria), and Vandana Shiva (India) quickly come to mind. Each of these amazing humans (and there are many, many more—see the long list of international Goldman Prize recipients, for example) understands the interconnected nature of humans as well as the critical importance of human rights as a foundation for the well-being of all life forms.

In the end, struggles to bring justice and equality are indelibly part of the same whole. The sooner we come to understand this, BLM and EM advocates can more explicitly connect their struggles and bring actual peace and sustainability into a nascent LM movement (i.e., LM = Life Matters).

Yet, this combined effort must recognize one very important point. Our political economy must serve humanity (rather than the other way around). We cannot continually privatize essential services and resources (be they police or tap water). Much of our current economy is based on “exchange value” which holds that something’s value equates to what it can be exchanged for. But in this system what is the value afforded a battered citizen (physically or emotionally) or a dolphin caught as bycatch? The human or biological system collapses at some point and neither can be replaced (some changes are irreversible; for more on human crashes due to our economic system, see Wolff, 2020). Thus, both BLM and EM must fully embrace this realization as they move forward and build alliances and coalitions in the LM struggle.

References

Mann, B. & E. Baker. (2020) “Black Protest Leaders to White Allies: ‘It’s Our Turn To Lead Our Own Fight.” NPR. September 22. https://www.npr.org/2020/09/22/913094440/black-protest-leaders-to-white-allies-it-s-our-turn-to-lead-our-own-fight

Poon, L. (2018) “‘Environmentalist’ Doesn’t Just Mean White and Wealthy.” Bloomberg CityLab. November 2. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-02/who-is-an-environmentalist-study-refutes-stereotypes

Wolff, R. D. (2020) “The champions of capitalism are rushing into disaster and refusing to admit their ideology has failed.” Independent Media Institute. April 3. https://www.alternet.org/2020/04/the-champions-of-capitalism-are-rushing-into-disaster-and-refusing-to-admit-their-ideology-has-failed/

A lot more needs to be done! This might be our chance.

People are focusing on containing this virus and reducing death and suffering (at least some are, see my last blog). This is all well and good and should be done. However, this “down time” was/is also a time to rethink how almost everything is done. Yes, I mean everything. What could I be talking about (have I lost my mind?)? Let’s find out.

First off, the most likely reason why this virus came about in the first place and spread to the human species so easily is because we have acted so irresponsibly regarding our production of food. Someone ate an infected bat or snake (which ate the bat). In 2020, humans shouldn’t be eating such food (nor other “more civilized” forms of food, more on this soon). Scientists had been predicting this for years (see ref 1 and ref 2) and yet almost nothing was done. In fact, we keep increasing our risk for additional pandemics because of how we raise food (see ref 3 and ref 4). But have you heard anything about changing the way we raise food during the past couple months? There are ecologically-grounded ways to raise food that would greatly reduce our risk of future pandemics, so we need to integrate them immediately. Unfortunately, nearly all institutions of “higher” learning promote the same, large scale, monoculturally-driven, dangerous methods of agriculture—ones destined to promote more infectious diseases.

Second, we need to overhaul nearly all mainstream media forms. Why? Well, a short list of demonstrable reasons includes: (1) they have failed to address the above issue/link regarding agriculture and disease; (2) they have held very, very few leaders accountable for lies and extreme blunders (if not, criminal acts); (3) they continue to rely almost entirely on the profits derived from advertising (one of the reasons why they are incapable of holding anyone associated with extreme wealth and power accountable for anything); and, (4) they focus almost no attention on what we, as an empowered citizenry working collectively, can do to stem the tide of wrongdoings or accelerate the positive changes that are possible and necessary. Rather, we are told daily that we must wait for a vaccine and for the weather to improve…and of course, wash our hands and wear our masks. Time to change, no?

Third, we need to remove money from the process of determining who our elected representatives are. This has long been known and yet those that are elected, they themselves products of a corrupted system that increasing relies on more and more $$, do little to nothing to correct it. (In fact, the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010 which gave corporations unlimited ability to fund political campaigns—a 5-4 decision mind you—suggests how money has contaminated nearly all levels of Federal government.)

Fourth, we need to reconsider what money is and how it functions in our society. The current crisis and, specifically, the ability for the federal government to send out trillions of dollars of money to companies and citizens, should send a message to all of us. Money is just “paper” or an “electronic” form of power. It is only as meaningful as the powerful in a society make it to be. Consider a diamond? What if you had a five-pound diamond in your possession. What would it be worth? Practically nothing, unless you could convince someone that it was worth something (to look at, wear, or use as a paper weight)? This is actually the same for money. Consider taking old Argentine bills (before its economic collapse) or even current Japanese yen to your local grocery store. The merchants there would laugh at you, even if you had a LOT of coinage. There are ways to conduct our economy that are outside the currently dominant monetary system (I will blog about this next). We need to really look at this carefully and do it soon.

There is more, a lot more (future blog? readers’ comments?) to be done. But these four things are among the four key ones. What do you think needs to be done? What are you willing to do to get these things done?

And finally, why now? This is another blog in itself, but suffice it to say that people are probably most aware that the systems protecting us and providing for us are broken at so many levels. They, hopefully, are more inclined to consider new ideas and maybe even try something different now.

You Really Want the Truth? Probably Not. Most Don’t.

The pandemic sweeping the world has brought a lot of things to light. Many, many people prefer to believe in something that isn’t true, if it makes them feel better about themselves and their immediate surroundings. Delusion is the word for this state of mind and it seems to be a perspective as contagious as the virus itself.

As someone following, researching, and reporting on the state of the environment for the past 20+ years, I have always felt that delusion was widespread but only now, as we all face this monumental challenge, did this mental contagion express itself so ubiquitously. But looking back, this disease was always present and visible, though less recognizable.

So many natural systems are extremely stressed out by human activities, yet, little effort is being made to reverse these trends. The vast majority of people don’t do much of anything to make things “right”. As I have written here previously, I fully understand that most who are economically-strapped and time-limited are not in a position to do much given the way our society is structured (i.e., they are dependent on a hyper-capitalist economy that exploits their labor and compels them to consume commercial products until they literally drop—by another well-known disease known as affluenza). However, if one is on a ship that is crashing, it makes sense to get off the ship or at least attempt (really hard) to redirect it.

Let’s briefly look at the current situation. Since the beginning of the outbreak, increasing numbers of people were calling for a return to “normalcy”. Primarily, their appeal was couched in economic terms. The argument goes something like this: we absolutely have to save the economy, even if it costs thousands, perhaps millions, of lives. Now, we find this has become the dominant attitude; bars have opened (or are soon opening) in many parts of country. Despite warnings from key epidemiologists and virologists, politicians are feeling the heat from swarms of constituents (some strangely brandishing high-powered weapons).

All of this is happening despite the reality that the United States has already witnessed the most deaths from this virulent, yet microscopic, virus. Thousands of first responders have lost their lives in order to save others. More will undoubtedly perish/suffer as well, especially as hordes of people flock to bars, parties, and shopping malls. These actions are being criticized by some but these responses are being overwhelmed by our collective compulsion to “shop” our way out of misery. And as with most ecologically harmful actions, the unwise decisions of the irresponsible and inconsiderate among us will make matters worse for all.

Yet, how many are asking key questions that deserve clear responses? Was this pandemic inevitable? (No, it wasn’t; I will likely write more on this later.) Why weren’t we prepared (and why does the U.S. appear to be among the least prepared of all)? Why are first responders’ lives being recklessly disregarded despite their exhibiting amazing bravery and compassion for an extended period of time. This extreme callousness by some leaders and residents alike is reminiscent of the way we treat our soldiers before, during and after combat. Absolutely despicable. Yet, the caskets keep getting filled and there is, yet, almost no accountability for the immoral acts of those in authority who have the power to mandate things like PPE for all responders, virus tests for all (not just the few and symptomatic), expanded resources to public health centers, and so many other consequential “life and death” programs and opportunities. Clearly, we need to really dig deeper and expose the lack of preparedness and other serious misgivings of our current government, media, and economic structures. Failure to do this serves to feed delusion and ensures that it maintains its hegemony in our collective psyche.

To be sure, I have one of the most serious cases of delusion. I claim to have dedicated my life to make things better for all. I have tried a lot of things and I continue to do so. However, I still go about my business like most others. I also don’t have the courage to be a “first responder” nor the wherewithal to put my neck out there too far to expose the system for all its shortcomings. A blog that twenty people read doesn’t count for much. Much more needs to be done. A lot, lot more (my next Blog). I realize this and I am still trying to figure out what is next for me and possibly for us. Yet, the more I think about it, the more delusion creeps in, particularly when the wave of delusion from so many others seems to be growing exponentially in force.

If others wiser and more insightful than I have ideas for what we can do to cure delusion, please let me know.

[I recognize that this blog is less optimistic than most that I write. It identifies a mental “disease” that might be more difficult to cure than the virus at hand. Any disease that is going to be eradicated must first be properly understood and deeply investigated. To begin that process is my goal here.]

Love is what we need in 2020

You may hear the pundits and “wise men” say that we need this person to run the U.S. or that company to fix the economy. As I waken to a new year, I am convinced that these are distractions to what we really need. We need more love in 2020. And unlike the other things that we “need”, and there are many, love is something that we all have to give and, magically, no one can prevent us from giving it either. Let’s explore why love is what we need this year.

Love is one of the most deeply rooted emotions. We know this. When we are loved, we wake up. When we aren’t, we either pretend we are or we shrink and stifle—both recipes for unpleasant outcomes. Research tells us that babies need love, preferably from their parents but, ultimately, from someone. This need continues as people grow (here is but one of millions of articles on this, link). Clearly, it is something we all need as it makes us more fully human and more fully our authentic selves as well.

Love conquers evil and hatred. We all know this too. How many times have we heard/seen/experienced what happens when someone responds to hatred with love? Most of the time, hatred is neutralized. People prefer love. This love may come in the form of listening. It may come in the form of an honest attempt to understand someone. It may come in the form of affection. No matter. Love has power. There is a lot of hatred and misunderstanding in our society. Love can do a ton to remedy these.

Love is something we can all do. It can start with a phone call or an email. It can start with a knock on a neighbor’s door. It can start with a “thank you.” Try these “small acts of kindness” and see where it leads. Try doing them intentionally, each day. See what happens. Start with smaller acts of love and build up to larger ones. See what happens. See what happens to the person/people you love and see what happens to you as well.

A lot of people I know are depressed right now. They are listening to the “pundits” too much. This leaves them feeling angry and hopeless (but wanting to buy more things to assuage their frustrations). (Ever wonder why this is? Might it be intentional/deliberate, a natural outcome of those that run the networks?) I hope these individuals try to love more (and turn off the TV more). I really do, they have so much love to give.

Love isn’t all we need (as John Lennon wrote) but it is what we need. There are many challenges that face us. Let us work on them. Let’s lead with love and see what happens. Here is to 2020, a year we all will remember!

Do people care?

I am often struck by the lack of concern people have regarding the future of humanity and the Earth’s biological systems. In general conversation, rarely do people mention such things as the plight of the insects or birds, climate change, or toxic pollution. Furthermore, it is the exception, not the rule, that one hears about people making much effort to confront these challenges. Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that people just don’t care about such things. Or is it?

Might the apparent silence and inaction on such critical matters represent something other than apathy? Might we be more focused on day-to-day matters (such as paying our bills, taking care of an aging relative or performing well for a team we are a part of)? Might the constructive actions of many be systematically ignored by major media outlets? Or, might our individual and collective fear of the future paralyze us so that we just avoid discussing or acting on these challenges? In other words, if “we are doomed,” what point is there to focus on such negative things?

I am no scholar of psychology and nor do I claim to have clairvoyance. Thus, I don’t know the answers to the above questions. But that doesn’t stop me from thinking a bit more about them. Let’s try a thought-experiment and see where it leads.

What might you do if you knew that large meteorite was going to hit Earth next year (causing the 7^th mass extinction)? Would you stop your daily activities and conversations? Would you start studying physics in hopes that you could figure out a way to deflect the meteorite away? Would you sell all your personal belongings and give it to the military in hopes that they could find a way to do it? (Forget the question of whom you would be selling it to; wouldn’t all humanity be in the same situation.) Seriously, what would you do?

Well, we are in a situation not so dissimilar from the above scenario. While the “meteor” (of climate change or toxic pollution) won’t hit next year (not for you at least; for an increasing numbers of humans and other life forms, however, the “meteor” has already hit), likely it will hit in the next several decades. Unfortunately, too many powerful influencers are deliberately ignoring or spreading misinformation about the impending “collision.” So, again I ask, what are you doing?

I don’t ask this accusatorily. I ask it honestly. I, personally, think about this every day. Some days I am motivated to do something about it, other days I feel helpless or preoccupied. I am sure I am not alone in this. We have groups set up to deal with/discuss alcoholism and cancer, but do we have groups set up to tackle humanity’s greatest challenge yet? Doesn’t it seem like we should set these groups up quickly, while we still have time?

Let me end on this note. One of the premises that I opened with stipulates that very little is being said or done on these critical matters. This is patently false, though I suspect most of us operate as if it were true (so, does that make it “true”)? Of the nearly 8 billion humans on this planet, millions of them are doing lots of amazing things to confront our environmental challenges. We just need to promote more of their work and join in to help. (I hope to write about some of them in an upcoming blog…if you don’t want to wait, you can begin to find such people/efforts by searching for the Goldman Prize recipients or Champions of the Earth awardees.) Perhaps we can all commit to do something along these lines in 2020.

Just Don’t Do It

Many conscientious people are busy figuring out what they can do to turn this “ship bound for a major iceberg” around. I commend them. There is so much to do and we need “all hands on deck.” However, this past week or so, I have heard two environmentally-minded people say the following, “We are doomed”–the “ultimate negative,” if there every was one. Statements like this are better not said. They serve no function other than furthering hopelessness. Furthermore, they indicate a serious degree of self-righteousness as well. In such cases, I recommend that people just “don’t do it”.

Let me try to explain why I find these sort of sentiments so problematic. First off, they are stated as fact. No person knows what will happen. No person knows what can happen. Even the bleakest of situations can sometimes be resolved or return to a better state (history repeatedly shows us this). Such statements definitely ignore the incredible potential that exists in each one of us as well as the gargantuan power that we harness collectively. Importantly, they also completely fail to recognize the enormous power and potential that exists within nature. Our current understanding of the natural world is still in its infancy, something the field of biomimicry has made clear over the past two decades.

Secondly, fatalism isn’t good for your/our health. We know from scientific research that animals/babies that aren’t loved don’t fair as well as those that are. Articulating the “ultimate negative” can’t be a good thing for our psyche or our physical well-being.

Thirdly, such negative thoughts don’t lead to action. They actually lead to inaction and paralysis. They may even lead to self-harm or, worse, harm done to others. I imagine some of the “suicide” acts we have observed in recent years are driven by people who have “no hope.”

Fourthly, negativism breeds negativism. People hear what you say and react to it. If you are so glum as to speak the “ultimate negative,” you should say it privately (and then seek support from others). Otherwise, if others hear you, they too will likely become more depressed and inactive.

Lastly, consider the sentiment a victory for those very powerful entities that have created the extreme injustice and cynicism in the general populace. As long as “we the sheeple” continue to behave as if “we are all doomed”, they continue to control us, our lives, our bodies, and our minds.

So, “just don’t do it”.

[After writing this, I heard an amazing couple that perform UPBEAT jazz–Pippi & Daniel…what a special duo they are!]

Imagination…plants remind me of it

[I want to thank Monica Gagliano, a biologist in Western, Australia, whose Bioneers 2018 talk (link) caused me to do some serious introspection this morning at the 8th Prairie Fire Bioneers Conference held at Knox College.]

I’ve recently fallen in love with plants. It has taken some time, it wasn’t something that happened overnight. Over the past ten or so years, I been surrounding myself with plants more and more. It started with me growing 13’ okra with my neighbor. This led me to help start a community farm that still exists in my small city. Then I started an educational farm on my college’s campus. Next came building a raised bed of plants in the front of my house (how you treat your front yard is a political statement) then installing a butterfly waystation (also in my front lawn). Currently, my freezer has seeds of many plants, my basement is full of aging seeds, pawpaw seeds are germinating in my living room, and houseplant propagation has become a regular activity. Last semester I even remember bringing spider plants to my class and saying, confidently, “this is the beginning of a major campaign. I plan to put plants in every classroom in the world!” So, as you can see, my love has become somewhat of an obsession.

Yet, despite all this effort, I never really understood what was driving me to do this. As of this morning, I may have an inkling. Plants have imaginations (if you are incredulous about this, please watch Gagliano’s video and check out her scientific articles and books). What does this have to do with me? Well, as most can attest, I have quite an imagination as well. As a child, relatives called me “Mr. non-sequitur.” As an aspiring local politician, I was described (in print), somewhat pejoratively, “a dreamer.”

Where does my imagination take me? I firmly believe that humans will resolve our current “insurmountable” challenges. I know we can do so. I live every day with this in mind and heart. I don’t know how, but I am “audacious” (to borrow a term used by Gagliano) enough to imagine a world where hunger, poverty, preventable disease, racism, misogyny and pollution don’t exist.

Plants imagine these things to. How do I know? Why wouldn’t they? Haven’t their ancestors lived in a world without these horrible things? This is why I think I’ve been surrounding myself with plants. They imagine this world and they live everyday to make it happen (again). We probably have a non-verbal, mutualistic, hopeful exchange daily. Sadly, many of the people I know can’t seem to imagine these things. And I think I have been becoming a bit more reclusive (to humans) in reaction to this.

I think this “state of mind” that I have is the ultimate privilege. I think our deeply racist, capitalist, misogynist, nationalistic, militaristic world has destroyed most people’s ability to imagine a different world. Fortunately, Bioneers has repeatedly reminded me that many humans are still able to imagine such things and are working every day to achieve them. I am glad to have this local Bioneers “shot” every year and I am also grateful to have plants around to remind me that another world is not only possible, it is imperative.

The insanity of our world: What to Do? (Part II)

[I haven’t blogged in a long time, the longest hiatus since I started this project in 2016. There are several reasons for this. One, the insanity of our world has only gotten more pervasive, intensive, and perplexing. I’ve probably started five blogs in the meantime only to put off finishing them due to mental and emotional exhaustion writing them engender. Two, I had to put the bulk of my intellectual energy into finishing my first (co-authored) book—The Earth is Not For Sale (www.theearthisnotforsale.org)–which hit the presses this fall.]

In the previous piece (Part I, see below), I laid out how most of our everyday actions are insane and why we continue to do them despite the illogic nature of doing so. Despite the provocative spirit of my first installment and the near invisible lack of response/reaction from those that took the time to read it, one might wonder why I persist with this topic. I guess it just feels therapeutic to get it out of my mind (where it simmers and infests other parts of my body). More importantly, I feel compelled to initiate a conversation on one of the questions I ended with, namely, “what might compel us to stop acting insanely?”

We will stop acting insanely when we come to terms with this simple understanding: “if we don’t, our lives will continue to suffer and our species will take an early exit from this amazing planet.” Since the second part of this statement is hard to fathom (particularly when our species continues to grow exponentially larger), it is advisable to hone in on the first part. Our lives are all much worse because of the insanity. Most of us realize this but we escape its implications because it just makes us feel worse. Perhaps an analogy will help here. Imagine being told you are dying from a disease. People handle this news differently. Many immediately shut down in disbelief. Others get really angry and ask, “why me?” Eventually, most come to terms with this horrific information and do what they can every day to make their lives livable without dwelling on it. This is what I think most of us do with our lives right now. We know that we live in a dysfunctional and insane world and we try to avoid focusing on it, which inevitably means we support and recreate its insanity by our actions (as discussed in Part I).

But what if we were to learn that there is a cure for our disease. I expect that many would try to cure/treat it by whatever means we can afford and access. I’ve known people to travel thousands of miles to seek wisdom and insight from non-conventional methods of disease response, for example. I have witnessed some spending their last dimes to help themselves or someone else enduring some great physical challenge. This is a reasonable response as being alive is something that we cherish and is much preferred to its alternative. However, when it comes to our everyday lives, our malaise (and continued participation in an insane society) doesn’t produce nearly the same type of response. Why? I think it is because we don’t think there is a cure for our insanity. And why should we when we are indoctrinated from the moment we come out of the womb to think that everything that is going on is “normal”/”proper” or inevitable. How many of these memes have you been taught (and how many do you believe—or at least act as if you believe)?:

–humans are inherently violent (hence, war is inevitable)
–money brings happiness
–economic inequality is natural (hence, an underclass is acceptable)
–significant numbers of people need to be “put away” as they are not fit for society (and they are not “curable”)
–nature’s creatures compete for preciously limited resources to survive
–pollution is a sign/result of progress
–feeding everyone requires us to grow mostly GMO grains
–modern humans are smarter than our ancestors
–humans are too insignificant to impair the planet significantly

In contrast, how many of these do you accept/believe? (reject if you feel that are naïve or overoptimistic):

–humans from different cultures can coexist peacefully
–there is enough space, food, resources for all 7+ billion people on Earth
–rainwater and rivers should be clean enough to drink
–humans are inherently kind and resourceful
–species cooperate to survive and maintain environmental conditions conducive to life—diversity enhances survivability
–money is just one medium to facilitate exchange of needs
–there is no such thing as waste
–plants and mushrooms are intelligenct organisms

Now subtract the number of memes you accept/believe in the second list from the number of such memes in the first list. So how did you do? Did your subtraction net a positive number? Probably not and this is a major part of the problem.

Before we will do anything, we need to be motivated. If we look at the prospects for ourselves and species in the near term, I suspect most of us, particularly young people, will understand the need to change our ways. Now let’s assume that you agree with this but are rather skeptical that others will be sufficiently motivated to change too. Well, this is where a leap of faith comes in. You need to have faith in others (the fourth element in the second list). True, you cannot control others but you should be able to control yourself, at least to a greater degree than you probably allow; oddly enough, as I write this I am struck by the extraordinary efforts by the mass media and the advertising industry to make us conform (by accepting one of the first list’s memes or buying one of the millions of mass produced items that they offer). Yes, it is with this faith in others that must be the foundation of any change in the world or on your part.

But thankfully, you don’t need to act on your own and merely wait for others. Others have already made this leap of faith and are making positive changes all over the place. You just have to look; hint, it probably won’t be on your television. It is happening in your neighborhood too, so you don’t need to move to a more progressive place to get busy. I’ll end here but I will provide concrete examples of what I am talking about in a future blog. In the meantime, let others know you are changing (you can comment here for instance) and may it become contagious!

The insanity of our world: The Why (Part I)

Many people now realize that the world is largely insane. However, every day these “sane” people continue their lives as best they can. Since so many aspects of our dominant culture and society are ruled largely by insane principles, these “sane” people can’t help but support (and thereby preserve) the insanity as they go about with their lives. To give some examples of what I am talking about, I consider the following “every day activities” as critically contributing to the continuance of our cultural insanity: buying “normal” (non-local, non-organic, “free” trade) food; using electronics and communication systems which are ruthlessly toxic in so many ways; watching mind-numbing entertainment; following mainstream news (which focuses almost all of our attention on the insanities in our world, but does so in such uncritical ways that it only normalizes the insanity it covers); paying taxes (which we know largely supports subsidies for unsustainable and inhumane practices including the jumbo-sized military and prison system); putting our money in national/international banks, investing in blue-chip stocks, or using credit-cards (all which directly support the insanely unequal distribution of wealth that exists); and, promoting consumeristic values (by adorning ourselves with material goods containing subtle or in-your-face advertisements, such as, a “F-I-L-A” hat or CK jeans, or having “bling-bling” qualities, such as, a diamond ring, gold necklace, faux fur, or Rolex watch).

For many of us these activities appear very normal and even mundane. Some reading this may in fact be quite annoyed at the insinuation that these are “insane” activities. However, the harm that they do (by perpetuating a materialistic, profit-at-any-cost system) is immeasurable. Then, if they are so harmful, why do the vast majority of us continue to do them? And what might be done to make us stop? These questions cut to the core of whether our society will endure or collapse (through war, disease or climate catastrophe)? I don’t pretend to be an expert when it comes to answering these questions, and I am not sure such experts exist, given that so few of us seriously consider changing the way things are. In this vein, I offer some thoughts to stimulate discussion in these largely ignored areas.

First, why do so many of us continue to act in ways that are insane? Well, some of us do so because we don’t have any other choice. Poverty is at epidemic levels in the US (the “richest” country in the world—how insane is that?) and income inequality continues to grow. In my community, over 60% of children are granted “free and reduced” lunch (and breakfast) because the government recognizes how desperate things are (hungry children lead to very angry citizens). A recent national report documents that more than 1/5 of children nationally suffer from food insecurity during the year. As tragic as this is, the poverty that affects so many has a paralyzing effect. Living day-to-day (paying this or that bill, deciding between dinner, a car repair, or a bus ride home) makes it nearly impossible to act outside the norm. (Interestingly, when you hit rock bottom, such as homeless people, you often must do things outside the norm (such as dumpster diving) to survive. In this sense, these folks are one of the few that aren’t perpetuating the insanity.) Even middle-class folks in the US have limited options. Although they may have some money saved or invested, they recognize that they are often one life challenge from losing their home/apartment, their car, or their educational dreams. Thus, they too work tirelessly to stay one step ahead—the system tells us all that as long as we work hard enough, we’ll be alright, and this satisfies our anxiety enough to keep moving on the “treadmill”. Many are also told that “we could be the lucky ones,” and this belief leads to many low- and middle-class people buying lottery tickets with the little that they have; in my community, over $6 million a year (~$200 per head) is spent now in mini-slot machines that have begun dotting our cultural landscape over the past few years. Our insatiable thirst for entertainment (500 cable channels, social media, sports on “steroids”) represents an escape from the realities of the world—a relatively innocuous escape compared to the many destructive vices that many (people of all economic classes) engage in for the same effect. Also, just as most industrial farmers are trapped by huge unpaid loans (for their mega-machines) and rising annual seed and pesticide payments, middle class people are trapped by their rent/mortgage, health care, car payment, cell phone, and cable bill. Then, you have the upper classes and the rich and it is pretty obvious why they perpetuate the insanity. They benefit from it, at least relatively, so they have no motivation for changing it, though they have the most power to do so. It should be noted that some thoughtful “wealthy” people assuage their guilt or fear (from the horrors of “poisoned” food and chemical-laced pillows) by purchasing hybrid cars and organic briskets. Unfortunately, while these acts are more sensible than other options, their contributions are not yet significant enough to overwhelm the “insanity” that dominates other components of their lives (such as, their many flights & ginormous homes and lawns) and other’s lives.

There you have it. The system of insanity continues because a few benefit from it while the masses can’t really see any other way.

Okay, so what might compel us to stop acting insanely? Does it have to be this way? You can comment your thoughts on this (I hope) and/or you can wait for my next blog ?.