A couple people I know and enjoy spending time with mentioned to me that I might be happy on my own island with my own government. While this sounds darn appealing - let's face it it would be lonely. I am frustrated and disgusted by politics. Things are absolutely crazy out there and no one seems to mind that they are part of it.
Our systems (education, health, drug war, military, etc...) are completely OFF. I have not heard from a single person that they think the way things are handled is the right way. So what is the answer? I don't know. I know that doesn't help does it.
When you look ove the history of the earth you realize that we are a small pinprick of time. But I get the feeling that if we don't change some very basics (food system as an example) things will only get worse. What does that say for the future for my kids?
The small minority of money makers and large corporations seem to have a strangle hold on our lives. When will we say enough is enough? I am trying each day as I remove myself from the "consumer" culture we live in today. I am not going to give up everything and live on an island or in the middle of the woods (a cabin to get away would be nice however). But I am going to learn how to balance modern life and learning how to be more sustainable in life.
Remember to Vote on Tuesday. In the meantime I'm going to watch the "Rally to Restore Sanity" this weekend and maybe just maybe I'll see hope.
Those island people are idiots. Don't listen to them. People ... people who need people ... are the (somethingest) people in the world.
ReplyDeleteOr, as Kinky Friedman reframed it, "here's to people who need People magazine."
You're right about the rest of it, though.
ReplyDeleteI've often thought of becoming a hermit myself. I don't need people the way that many do. I like being alone, and I can't stand people telling me to change my ways. I'm not really sure how I ever ended up married :/
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to do my part: I'm currently teaching about 40 college students, and I'm trying to show them the problems that exist within the systems they are a part of (namely, education). I show them documentaries and we read articles. I also try to just lead by example and, of course, there's my blog. Real change, though, is going to have to be made by our governing bodies. You're right about the corporations; the average citizen cannot compete with them, but we can make our wishes known by voting and standing up for the things that are most important to us.
I highly doubt that government bodies, unless those bodies first are changed, will ever accomplish the changes that are needed. Personally, I think you are right that the first step is to remove yourself from the consumer culture. The next step is to re-create a decentralized governing body from the ground up - where all of "we the people" are empowered by compassion rather than convenience.
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