One day fairly soon we will all go belly up like guppies in a neglected fishbowl. I suggest an epitaph for the whole planet…”We could have saved it, but we were too darn cheap and lazy.”
-Kurt Vonnegut
I am an old, gray-haired white guy in appearance but not in spirit. I think the Community College students help keep me young. Some of my friends are in their 20’s and thirties. They think differently than we, the older people, do. They have access to so much information and many make good use of it. Maybe I just have access to a select group since they are college students and let’s not forget the employees and members of the local Food Coop. So many have such good hearts, are really smart, insightful and deeply concerned, sometimes distraught, over what is happening to our world. They are aware of so much but have been socialized into waiting for the elders, elected officials, or other “leaders” to show them the way. We all have been exposed to the norm of the “Divine Right of Kings” and have some belief that someone will deliver us from the mess we are in. We are easily manipulated and have been for millennia.
The students and colleagues I mentioned inspire me to keep on getting up in the morning and putting one foot in front of the other despite the mounting environmental problems that we face. The problems seem insurmountable particularly when living in a country where a third of the population has collectively lost their minds and are willing to follow an administration that is the most dishonest I have experienced in my lifetime in the U.S. This is not my opinion, this is fact. When a world leader chooses to deny the environmental problems we face, discount and minimize them, and verbally assault anyone who disagrees with him we as a global community are in even greater danger. No matter how corrupt or unethical a leader is people often fall in line behind them. History has shown us this repeatedly. But they also can come to their senses and choose not to follow. This has also happened before with the Vietnam War and Invasion of Iraq after the public had become aware of information that contradicted the government’s initial statements.
But the real problem is why people choose to follow even when they know it is the wrong thing to do. Why do we follow? This is the first question I pose to my Psychology and Sociology classes and I ask them to consider this throughout the semester. I then challenge them with this: “Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you have found that anything agrees with reason and is conductive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept and live up to it.” It is a challenge to them to become critical thinkers, to challenge what I tell them and if they have evidence to the contrary to bring it in so we can discuss it together within the structure of the compassionate communication guidelines.
I support their act of both non-evidence and evidence-based assertion as we endeavor to search for the truth together. By then we have practiced a good deal of mindfulness and when the rhetoric starts and people begin to defend their position we invite the bell, come back to our breath, and take a look at why it is so important for us to believe something even when there is substantial evidence contradicting their beliefs. It is a difficult task at first. As an example there is mounting evidence that corporal punishment has many deleterious effects on children that often persist throughout their lives. After reviewing the evidence, extensively I might add, on this topic some still argue for the use of it and say they will use it with their children. Beliefs and values are very difficult to dislodge and do not change just because of new information no matter how persuasive. But at least the information is out there and if we do not force people to accept it sometimes over time it percolates down and change occurs.
The parallel when it comes to the environment is of course the stubborn stance by some, particularly in the U.S., that climate change is a hoax. If they should admit the earth is warming, then they assert it is just a natural cycle. Some label this group climate deniers although I don’t think the label helps. Reactance theory explain some of this. The more you push someone in a direction they don’t want to go the more they will resist you. Perhaps we need a course on Motivational Interviewing so we can learn reflective listening and to “roll with resistance”. I am a trainer for the approach and it does work very well. Look up Miller and Rollnick for more information on the approach.
So how do we dislodge the types of beliefs that threaten our existence; and I mean the existence of all the people, animals, plants and resources that comprise the biosphere which allows us to exist? Well I am trying to do my part by teaching classes like Building Peace, Ecopsychology, Sociology of Human Rights and also integrating these topics into introductory courses. I am also trying to “walk the talk” in my own life. But will any of this be enough? Is it too late? Will anything I do matter? How can I help preserve the planet? As we start to allow the magnitude of such problems into our consciousness we can easily fall into despair. We need to be here to support each other and develop voices that will be heard. This includes becoming educated on the issues and taking political and economic action.
For some inspiration take a look at some of the perceptions shared by Greta Thunberg as she called out the world on environmental issues. She essentially is the child in the tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes”. She is “awake” and trying to wake up the world.
She criticized EU leaders in Strasbourg for not taking the threat posed by climate change seriously enough. The 16-year-old activist said: “If our house was falling apart our leaders wouldn’t go on like we do today … if our house was falling apart you wouldn’t hold three emergency Brexit summits and no emergency summit regarding the breakdown of the climate and the environment.” One speech can be found at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/video/2019/apr/16/greta-thunbergs-emotional-speech-to-eu-leaders-video
An article can be found at: Forget Brexit and focus on climate change, Greta Thunberg tells EU
You can also take a look at:
The Green New Deal at: https://www.gp.org/green_new_deal
The Extinction Rebellion at: https://rebellion.earth/
I am moved to tears by her speech. We all have to wake up and make the necessary changes now….not tomorrow. Straws and plastic bags are a part of this but we need global cooperation as we move through this crucial time in our history. Now more than ever we have to understand the concept of interdependence and how our actions affect not only ourselves, but every single component that makes up our planet. The future is now and I believe we have to listen to the “youngsters” if we are to survive. And they have to keep stepping up to the podium and sharing their hope for a livable sustainable future with us for they have not been corrupted yet. It will require more than one person leading if we are to succeed. It must be a collective effort where each one of us does our part.