Am I the first?
I am hopeful that we can create change. The alternative is unthinkable. Didn't Anne Frank write some like that? This is my hometown, and the topics of the film were discussed by the adults in the housholds I grew up in. There are many like minded folks in this town. But this hasn't been enough. How can we motivate "the masses" to do likewise? Where I get stuck is when I have gone outside my circle of simply living friends I encounter religious folks who believe the crisis is the coming of "end times." Something they are eager to have happen. Their response is to put the pedal to the metal, have as many babies as they can, burn as much fuel as they can, consume as much as they can, and bring on rapture. I don't know how to respond. While we limit our family size, they expand theirs, their percentage in the population has increased. Our biggest barrier is figuring out how to bridge this gulf. How do we get fundamentalists to care about the planet, and those of us who don't believe as they do? (And yes, I also know many religious folks who are not this way, they're not the ones I worry about.)
Sustainable Bellingham (Bellingham, WA)
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October 13th, 2007
WAWTG
Hello Diana and David M.,
I was so encouraged by the turnout to the WAWTG firm last night, how smoothly it went, (thanks mostly to you David) meeting the filmmakers, and the discussion and the demand for the DVD's. I'm celebrating today!
I use the words motivated or inspired now instead of hopeful. Seems to express it better for me. Diana, I've felt frustrated when having conversations about these challenging times we're living in--with friends who are of the New Thought persuasion, who really don't seem to want to hear about anything negative. How to stay connected with these old friends now is also a challenge. Fortunately I have some Nonviolent Communication experience to fall back on, but since problems are escalating so fast now--I don't like to have to sit on my feelings and thoughts and the actions I'm taking.
What inspires me: Recently I'm inspired by Van Jones' speeches. Also I definitely learned something from the film "Zeitgeist" which is online. I'm cheering for Al Gore. I've started thinking "Al and Dennis, Al and Dennis, Al and Dennis!" I like that combination.
Lynnette
Lynnette Allen
“There is almost a sensual longing for communion with others who have a large vision. The immense fulfillment of the friendship between those engaged in furthering the evolution of consciousness has a quality impossible to describe.” --- P
October 13th, 2007
Diana said: "I am hopeful
Diana said: "I am hopeful that we can create change. The alternative is unthinkable. Didn't Anne Frank write some like that?"
Diana, the subject of "hope" could be a very interesting discussion. Derrick Jensen has a very interesting and provocative essay called "Beyond Hope" (http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/170/). His perspective is, "Frankly, I don’t have much hope. But I think that’s a good thing. Hope is what keeps us chained to the system, the conglomerate of people and ideas and ideals that is causing the destruction of the Earth."
And he ends the article: "When you give up on hope, you turn away from fear.
And when you quit relying on hope, and instead begin to protect the people, things, and places you love, you become very dangerous indeed to those in power.
In case you’re wondering, that’s a very good thing. "
I don't think Jensen is the last word on hope, but it is a very interesting perspective and some important points are made.
From another angle, I like Erich Fromm's essay "On the Ambiguity of Hope" from his book The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness. At some point I might scan this into the computer to share the whole thing, but here's one paragraph:
"The position taken in this book is one of rational faith in man's capacity to extricate himself from what seems the fatal web of circumstances that he has created. It is the position of those who are neither 'optimists' nor 'pessimists,' but radicals who have a rational faith in man's capacity to avoid the ultimate catastrophe. This humanist radicalism goes to the roots, and thus to the causes; it seeks to liberate man from the chains of illusions; it postulates that fundamental changes are necessary, not only in our economic and political structure but also in our values, in our concept of man's aims, and in our personal conduct.
"To have faith means to dare, to think the unthinkable, yet to act within the limits of the realistically possible...this hope is not passive and it is not patient; on the contrary it is impatient and active, looking for every possibility of action within the realm of real possibilities...
"The situation of mankind today is too serious to permit us to listen to the demagogues -- least of all demagogues who are attracted to destruction -- or even to leaders who use only their brains and whose hearts have hardened. Critical and radical thought will only bear fruit when it is blended with the most precious quality man is endowed with - the love of life."
Erich Fromm, 1973
October 13th, 2007
Welcome Diana, thank you
Welcome Diana, thank you attending the "What A Way to Go" screeening, and for joining us here, and sharing your thoughts!
I don't know if we can motivate the masses in time to make the kind of shift that that is necessary to avoid collapse. As I think Derrick Jensen said in the film, most people won't change until the fist is in their face. Richard Heinberg explains in his book "Powerdown" that what we can do is work as hard as possible for at least a more controlled collapse, and prepare metaphorical lifeboats so that some alternatives are in place as the collapse happens.
As far as the fundamentalists go, I once believed very strongly in the rapture myself, and I carefully read a lot of the "end times" related scriptures, as well as the important evangelical authors who specialized on the subject. It does make sense for evangelical Christians to be expectantly waiting for and hoping for the return of Jesus. The hope is for the loving reign of Christ on earth, when swords are turned into plowshares, the lion lays down with the lamb in peace, and peace and justice become the norm for a thousand years.
However, this belief system and world view has morphed into more and more emphasis on the violent events that are said to precede this millenium of peace, and there's a lot about this that does not make sense. Some of these Christians have this mindset, as you say, of wanting to use up all the earth's resources as rapidly as possible, and they want to instigate Armageddon, for example by pre-emptively attacking Iran. They somehow think this will hasten Christ's return. This is very troubling to me. They need to understand the difference between (in their own world view) advancing the cause of Jesus vs. advancing the cause of Satan. For in their own world view, it is Satan who is responsible for all of the death and destruction - the wars and rumors of wars, etc. - that mark the end times. If they are actively doing things to help the crisis along, they are doing the work of the devil - again, according to their own world view. When I was growing up in the evangelical church the dominating thought was: hey, time's growing short, so let's devote ourselves to spread the message of Jesus as rapidly as possible so that as many people as possible will be saved. The emphasis was on spreading the gospel in the short time left, not on taking part in destructive actions that make the time left even shorter.
For those who have no concern for taking stewardship responsibility for the planet God entrusted to their care, but instead think it's OK to use up the earth's resources as rapidly as possible...I'd say perhaps their true religion is showing. As I said in my Peak Everything blog post (http://www.relocalize.net/peak_everything), "we live in a culture who's religion is what Erich Fromm called "the religion of industrialism and the cybernetic era" (To Have or To Be, 1976), which worships at the alter of hyper consumption and endless economic growth."
The good news is that more and more evangelical Christians are waking up to their stewardship responsibilities in caring for the earth. Check out the Evangelical Environmental Network and Creation Care magazine: http://www.creationcare.org/
October 14th, 2007
Thank you!
David-
Thank you! Both a way to respond to end times discussions, and stewardship organizations for Christians were exactly what I needed. I will forward them immediately. How can we interest the Bush family?
Diana