The unnatural dominant culture, coldly spewing its noise and heat, subjecting
us to dirty machines and pavement, no longer makes sense in terms of our
needs as humans. But don't let it get you down and make you give up.
Play your guitar, enjoy the company of friends, or whatever else
restores your humanity. Perhaps the songs and the
conversations will lead to some liberation and justice, alleviating
the pain of this senseless system running our lives into the
ground. But we must do even more. Finding a "better job" is no
solution long-term, however much we think we need money to survive.
Taking responsibility for our own lot and the climate crisis means we must first reject an unworkable system
and culture. I hasten to clarify; this does not mean there
aren't a lot of nice people caught up in it. But if they believe
elections and voting with their consumer dollars are going to save them
from the ecological crisis and the slide into societal chaos of
collapse, they are of no help to themselves or to the countless species
being driven extinct by modern civilization.
In complaining about the failure of the Copenhagen COP 15 meeting, and
continuing to beseech the Barack Obamas of the world to "please take
good care of us," we are behaving like overgrown children who have no
business coming back to helpless, hopeless parents to save us when we
are reluctant to take matters into our own hands for our survival.
Except, the Obamas and Merkels and other corporate front men say to
us, "Yes, there there, we're here for you. And we're trying to be green. Now be good and stay out
of our way." So we go off and brood, get a bit more frustrated, and
then we come back with more proposals, only to be disappointed -- as
our graves are dug deeper by the technological war-for-profit growth-
is-essential system. To legitimize a fixed game by continuing to play
by its rules is foolish and tiresome to those of us who see though the
sham and self-delusion.
Blaming the Copenhagen fiasco on... ?
Some activists, such as the "global web movement" Avaaz.org, blame "big polluters" such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for the U.S. stance on climate protection, while sparing Obama significant criticism. Avaaz probably did not read
Naomi Klein's recent Guardian- UK article that made a good case for blaming Obama. The deeper problem is that many activists want to hope Obama is their guy, not the polluter's guy. Sure, sure.
Still another progressive environmentalist view finds Obama still heroic as a constrained realist facing a tough Congress: a Grist.org column stated, "Instead of directing our frustrations at Obama, let’s direct them at the paralysis of vision and understanding among the American people."
When we face the fact that we are on our own and must build an
alternative society, it would seem wise to look at the only
sustainable model humanity has known: indigenous, traditional society
based on tribes. Except for a few experiments in civilization that
eventually failed, such as the Mayans and the Mississippi culture, the
cultures of revering nature and the universe as it is -- not as our
technology could remake it -- succeeded for millennia.
Now we are up against the wall, trying to create ecovillages and
implement permaculture before we are crushed. It's ironic that so few
people see the need. This is one reason it is so hard to jump to a
safe haven where these sound practices are followed. It takes a good
deal of sacrifice or luck in being able to make major changes in one's
life under the yoke of the vicious economic system. Even so, there's really
nowhere to run to, when we're all in this together. But we can and
should each improve our situations in a responsible way.
So keep your eyes peeled for opportunities to exit the corporate
economy, or at least to become more self-sufficient while creating more
community. Someday a tribe will form around you, or you'll have to go
find one. Driving to the supermarket and shopping online, and in other fashions not
working closely with family or neighbors, has no future. It is
antisocial as well as ecocidal.
Email alert by Avaaz.org -
The People vs. Polluters to raise money for Yes Men-like climate activists busted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The Guardian, UK - Copenhagen's failure belongs to Obama "The American president has been uniquely placed to lead the world on climate change and squandered every opportunity."
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