Friends, when I first started Dangerous Creation, I was filled with a strong drive to try to change the world, at least a little bit of it.
I used whatever writing skills I had to attack some of the things that were making the world such a difficult place: things like religion, capitalism, the Israeli occupation, the failure of democracy, the income inequality in most nations, greed…you name it, I attacked them all with much huffing and puffing.
This morning I did my normal rounds of the internet sites, you know, ICH, Common Dreams, Info-Wars, Al Jazeera, etc, looking for an issue to write about. Bewildered, I just looked at the scores of headlines and the little blurb that accompanied each one. It was a depressing read, full of dire predictions of wars, economic collapses, loss of human rights, etc, same as it was before DC started, no, much worse!
Suddenly, the world seemed very big and threatening and I seemed very small and completely impotent. It occurred to me that all my impassioned words and arguments had achieved nothing.
I then thought about a comment on DC, I can’t remember who made it, that said something along the lines of: if we fashion our own lives around achieving peace and harmony with nature and our neighbours then perhaps others, seeing people enjoying peace rather than subscribing to the crazy, competitive, greedy capitalist treadmill, will follow. I need to think about this.
While I do, I’ll leave you with this peaceful image, one that suggests peace and tranquility can be found even if it means that we withdraw from the mainstream of society and do our own thing, find our own version of peace, lead by example so to speak.
Perhaps that’s the answer rather than futilely huffing and puffing ourselves to death trying to change a world that will never change, not in a million years.
At least we’ll enjoy some moments of peace during life’s difficult journey!
sadly, i believe that is what most people do: withdraw from the mainstream of society and do their own thing. because they find it too overwhelming to come to terms with the state of society/the world. but if we all stood together against the ‘beast’ it might be different. i’m a firm believer in living in harmony with nature and its creatures. and only yesterday had a hilarious interlude with some cockrels……………..
i’m fortunate enough to live within walking distance of a scene just like the picture you’ve given us…………
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Hello David -
I can also sympathize with your feelings about the state of the world. It is so easy these days to withdraw into a cloistered place or a cyber world and just disengage oneself from the profound problems we face. What you said reminded me of something that my life-long hero, Albert Einstein, said. He stated that real social change can only come by example, not force. He said that the best thing you can do in the world is to live the most meaningful and ethical life that you can and, if other people see something in your example to emulate, then that is good. If they do not, there is really nothing you can do about it.
Unfortunately, there are far too few “Einsteins” in the world and far too many people who see our collective experience as something to be ignored or exploited. It is a disease of the human “soul” that frequently leads me to despair. It reminds me of something else that Einstein said – “You cannot solve a problem with the same level of thinking which created it in the first place”. That brilliantly summarizes our dilemma to me. I keep seeing that same level of thinking, or worse, here in the U.S. which is used to try and get us out of our current malaise. I still hear the same old cries for More Growth and the implication is that we will be able to somehow get back to days before the Great Recession and everything will be as it was. I believe that those days are now gone for good and I am also afraid that a great many people in the U.S. are going to get really angry when they finally realize it. I’m quite concerned as to the political direction they would take.
As for me, I was fortunate to live in a university town where I did graduate work years ago and that I have subsequently returned to after being laid off from my job in the San Francisco area. It is by no means perfect but it is a good place to be. The community offers free health care to residents, there are many clubs and associations to join, we have a wonderful market which offers real food, and there is a Farmer’s Market on the weekends. The town square has nothing but local businesses (no chain stores) and there are “Buy Local” bumper stickers everywhere. And, thinking long term, there is still much arable land nearby that hasn’t been destroyed by “development”. That and a source of clean and non-privatized water will be more and more precious in the years to come.
The biggest challenge that I see facing the United States is whether we will be able to transition into a series of smaller, more sustainable communities and local governments that will be necessary for us to survive and possibly thrive in the coming decades. I see little assistance from our profoundly corrupt and incompetent federal government. It is much too busy enabling resource wars and looking out for Wall Street. I also think that our lives as “consumers” have got to change. James Howard Kunstler has a book out called “World Made by Hand” which describes what he calls “The Long Emergency” and what we can and must do to get ready for it. Americans (especially our so-called “Conservatives”) are very quick to refer to themselves as “rugged individualists”. Now we are going to see just how true that is.
Best regards,
Bruce
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Sadly I have been feeling much the same way you do David.
I think we still need to keep trying. How much worse would the world be today if all the people who worked, suffered and died had done nothing to try to make things better? I don’t know, but I suspect it would be even worse than what we have today.
When I need inspiration to get going and try to do something to make a change for the better I think of my 4 years old grandson and my new granddaughter due in June and I know in my heart that I must try even though I will most probably fail. I must at least try and I believe that in some small way all of us working together and seperately do make a difference.
Spring is coming early here in the northern US, maybe global warming or maybe El Nino, but whichever, it is very welcome. It is a joy to get out in the yard and forget if only for a short while all troubles personal and global.
There is nothing like some sun, a warm breeze and the laughter of a 4 year old to make me happy!
Sometimes the world and It’s problems have to wait. We all need time to just enjoy what we can of our lives.
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David your blog has helped me a lot in the few short months I’ve been reading it. All of your huffing and puffing has not been in vain. The world does seem to be getting worse with time though and I’m not sure how it all ends. This week I have especially noticed too many disturbing headlines and they leave me with a sense of helplessness too. Didn’t the earth shift somehow this past week? Maybe the electromagnetism affected me the wrong way!
The other night when I was getting so angry I didn’t do a very good job of making a point that I wanted to make so I will try again now with more peace in my heart.
Many of your articles David have brought me more truth to study than I knew existed. Most of the comments here and the bloggers who visit have given me wonderful links and videos to go study. But as we study these subjects we are exposing ourselves to the dark side of things. Although it hurts to spend very much of life looking at the bad things, I believe it has to be done. How can we ever hope to change the bad things if we don’t ever learn what they are?
I see right now, a big ugly beast/machine of a system that needs to be brought down. It’s tentacles seem to be wrapped around everything in the world. I didn’t come to this conclusion overnight. It has been a process of learning that religions are corrupt, governments are corrupt, the monetary system is corrupt and also a complete illusion that we have bought into. The public school system does not love our children. Our food, water, and air are tampered with. The IRS is not an American corporation. And there are so many other things that I’ve learned in the past two years, that I now believe I’ve lived my entire life in an illusion that was built just for me and everyone else like me.
When I started to wake up, the first thing I wanted to do was enlighten my friends, neighbors and family members. They think I’ve lost my mind.
Next, I tried to picture the world with the beast system brought down. What does it look like and what will we have to go through to bring it down? What do we replace it with? What is the solution? I could visualize being part of a lynch mob hanging Nancy Pelosi from a tree for crimes of high treason by the authority of the Constitution. As you mentioned before David, the constitution is a joke as evidenced by George W Bush…and I’ll add here that it was probably trampled on by someone (if only just a little) before the ink was even dry!
So if me and my lynch mob aren’t hanging Nancy with any constitutional authority (because we are going to throw the old trampled document out) then are we just a murderous vigilanty mob who doesn’t like Nancy and thinks she needs to die? Okay, so maybe we don’t want to hang Nancy. Maybe we only want to put her on trial, find her guilty and put her in prison. But are we going to operate under the rule of any law or simply “mob rule.” So as we bring down the beast system we will be left with a void of lawlessness and anarchy. Don’t ruthless dictators usually step in to fill the void at this point? ARGH!!!!
I tend to wonder as Bruce does about small sustainable communities with local government while I wish for a world where we could evolve to the point of no government. Wouldn’t it be sweet if we lived by the motto “do unto others as you would have others do unto you?” Wouldn’t it be nice if we could work in a world not because we need to labor to earn money, but to work freely to develop our talents, gifts and skills so that we could use them in service to our fellow humans and restoration of the planet? If only……
Trying to sound the warning bell is tiring, especially if it seems to bring little change. But you never know David. Maybe you have already saved someone’s life or reshaped their life for the better just by being here! I think we do need to take time to enjoy moments with nature and family to bring some balance into our lives though. Peace and love to all
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Coco, what we need is a balance between trying to achieve small changes and finding periods of restorative peace!
Bruce, thanks for your interesting and informative, supportive comment. Perhaps my feeling are more normal than I thought. Perhaps there is an unconsious urge within mankind to return to a more simple lifestyle, one devoid of all the crap that we are told we need, one that puts us in touch with nature again, with communities, with our extended families, with real values.
Jeannie, you’re right. Sometimes the world and its problems must be put aside so that we can recharge our own batteries, restore our sense of humour, reconnect with loved ones, smell the flowers, perhaps see ourselves as part of nature rather than at the centre of the universe.
Kathy, you’re right of course. I can’t know just what I’ve achieved with my blogs. People come and people go and each one has changed me a little and perhaps I’ve helped them in some way.
I realize that, over many months, I have been dealing with world issues AND trying to slip in posts that suggest the need for constant rejuvenation and immersing one’s self in periods of peace. My own body was prompting me to do this as sometimes I was just too sickened by the world’s problems, too overcome by them.
Flexibility is the key for survival in this crazy world. Confront, then run and hide!
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coco Reply:
March 21st, 2010 at 9:12 am
and perhaps jean-paul sartre and the other existentialists got it right………..
knowledge of the true self is the only thing that matters…………….
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David G Reply:
March 21st, 2010 at 10:08 am
Jean-Paul had a big impact on my thinking in days past, Coco.
Trying to make sense of the human condition has been a constant challenge in my life. I can enjoy life yet simultaneously see its futility.
It’s a delicate balancing act.
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My husband is obsessed with trying to save the world. He spends multiple hours writing and speaking and networking.
I don’t really believe that we can save humankind, but I’m married to an optimist, so I spend a few hours at the effort.
Then I spend enough time at work to pay the bills and the rest of the time I enjoy life.
That way if we save the world, I’ll celebrate with everyone else, and if we don’t I’ll be happy in my own personal life.
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David G Reply:
March 22nd, 2010 at 5:03 pm
You are one smart lady, Wagelaborer!
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