Musings
I've been doing a lot of reading and imagining lately. Miss Beast gave me one of the Massey lectures for Christmas and I listened to it on the plane. It was a 'Short History of Progress' and one idea that caught me about it was when Wright said that the great killer of humankind is hope. He says that, because we keep hoping that there is a chance we'll survive, we don't face the reality that we can't sustain ourselves at our current rate of consumption. I've often thought about hope and how it influences people. It can sometimes be painful and other times it can be the only sustaining thing in a person's life. But what about collective hope? What happens when the mainstream Western world chooses to keep hoping against hope that we can survive this way even when it is clear that we can't?
The times when I have most noticed hope in my life have been times when I have been anxious about something. Getting that 'A', winning the heart of a special boy, or hoping that my family is safe. It is only when that hope is killed, for better or for worse, that I am able to move on from hoping and on to adjusting. So perhaps what Western humans need is a killer of hope. Unfortunately, I think this killer is far off. I was shocked when Wright mentioned that half of the Nobel Prize winners have stated that we have about a decade left to live if we continue our current consumption rates. But people don't believe it because we can't see it happening. Or maybe there is something else in human psychology that allows us to think mostly of short-term ramifications of actions.
But the point for me is how to encourage people to move towards modes of consumption which are ecologically sustainable. Do we need a great hope-killer or do we need to use the human weakness for hope to our advantage? Can we even win people over to green philosophies through hope when many of us are unable or unwilling to acknowledge that our current ways are going to kill us? I refuse to say that people are stupid, and can't understand what is happening to our world. People are smart, they can memorize hockey statistics and find the best product for the highest value in the grocery store. It isn't stupidity.
So is it hope? Blissful ignorance? A choice to ignore what we feel hopeless against? Laziness?
In human history we have seen strong examples of people coming together to achieve a common goal. What was it about these movements that inspired people? And how can we move from a culture of hoping in the indestructability of the planet to one that hopes that we can be great caretakers of our planet and of each other?
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I am safe in Ontario and feeling comforted by my family. My grandmother and I have been charged with doing all the Christmas baking. I appreciate how my family takes great pains to ensure that everything we make is gluten-free and good-tasting. I've taken a few books out of the library and hope to learn a lot about a lot over Christmas. Amazing how now that my learning is not forced it is most exciting.
I spent a couple of days in Langley with my aunt, uncle and cousins as well. I had a grand time and realized that I can make a little girl's day simply by watching her swim practice and delivering papers with her.
Had din din's with Col in T-Dot at my favourite restaurant. This place is like if Lucky Bar and the Garrick's Head had babies. Very good food for very cheap prices. I think Saturday was the first time I have ever been able to envision myself living in a big city again.
Also, it is snowy here! There are about 1.5 feet of snow! On Sunday I forced my family to hike through it for an hour and a half at this park called Lamoinse Point which is right on Lake Ontario. And now for my first attempt to post a pic in an entry.
The times when I have most noticed hope in my life have been times when I have been anxious about something. Getting that 'A', winning the heart of a special boy, or hoping that my family is safe. It is only when that hope is killed, for better or for worse, that I am able to move on from hoping and on to adjusting. So perhaps what Western humans need is a killer of hope. Unfortunately, I think this killer is far off. I was shocked when Wright mentioned that half of the Nobel Prize winners have stated that we have about a decade left to live if we continue our current consumption rates. But people don't believe it because we can't see it happening. Or maybe there is something else in human psychology that allows us to think mostly of short-term ramifications of actions.
But the point for me is how to encourage people to move towards modes of consumption which are ecologically sustainable. Do we need a great hope-killer or do we need to use the human weakness for hope to our advantage? Can we even win people over to green philosophies through hope when many of us are unable or unwilling to acknowledge that our current ways are going to kill us? I refuse to say that people are stupid, and can't understand what is happening to our world. People are smart, they can memorize hockey statistics and find the best product for the highest value in the grocery store. It isn't stupidity.
So is it hope? Blissful ignorance? A choice to ignore what we feel hopeless against? Laziness?
In human history we have seen strong examples of people coming together to achieve a common goal. What was it about these movements that inspired people? And how can we move from a culture of hoping in the indestructability of the planet to one that hopes that we can be great caretakers of our planet and of each other?
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I am safe in Ontario and feeling comforted by my family. My grandmother and I have been charged with doing all the Christmas baking. I appreciate how my family takes great pains to ensure that everything we make is gluten-free and good-tasting. I've taken a few books out of the library and hope to learn a lot about a lot over Christmas. Amazing how now that my learning is not forced it is most exciting.
I spent a couple of days in Langley with my aunt, uncle and cousins as well. I had a grand time and realized that I can make a little girl's day simply by watching her swim practice and delivering papers with her.
Had din din's with Col in T-Dot at my favourite restaurant. This place is like if Lucky Bar and the Garrick's Head had babies. Very good food for very cheap prices. I think Saturday was the first time I have ever been able to envision myself living in a big city again.
Also, it is snowy here! There are about 1.5 feet of snow! On Sunday I forced my family to hike through it for an hour and a half at this park called Lamoinse Point which is right on Lake Ontario. And now for my first attempt to post a pic in an entry.