Okay- this is my first Daily Kos diary, so be gentle! I am compelled to post this as a parent and community activist and I invite your commentary...
My husband and I recently viewed the entire on-line "Crash Course" by Dr. Chris Martenson. This video slide-show documents and explains, in an understandable way, what we are facing economically and environmentally and it's less than encouraging, folks!
We're rapidly approaching the "Post-Petroleum" Age and, while that's a good thing in many ways that I won't go into in this post, there are a few reality-based issues that we must acknowledge and begin to deal with if we are to have any hope of transferring to our children a future worth living in! I, for one, couldn't live with myself if I didn't do EVERYTHING in my power to raise these issues and encourage others to do so, too.
More after the jump...
When my son was born 11 years ago, I was overwhelmed at the depth of emotion and strength of connection I felt the moment I first held his squirming, pink body! He was long and skinny with thousands of tiny, red curls plastered to his head and his tiny little hands balled into furious fists as he flailed against the much less hospitable outside world to which he emerged from the safety of my womb.
Today, I still feel that incredible, deep, strong connection with my son and with all of the children of the planet who are today crying out to us to keep them safe! We are failing them. Miserably. Why? Because we cannot seem to let go to the obsolete and destructive notion that GROWTH is the ultimate good.
I have been and continue to be a supporter of our new American President. Barack Obama is a thoughtful, intelligent, and compassionate leader and I'm proud that he is our Chief Executive BUT he continues to reinforce the growth myth paradigm along with the rest of our official "leaders." This paradigm has led us to the brink of extinction as a species and we must insist on its replacement. Replacing leaders is not enough if the STORY remains the same! We are foolish if we convince ourselves that having a "different" political administration will make everything alright. It is up to us to make sure that our representatives begin reflecting their constituents' values and interests- not the other way around!
The title of this diary is "On rearranging deck chairs..." with the obvious allusion to the old saying about the ill-fated passengers of the Titanic. I am afraid that nearly all of our attention in this too-wired society is being directed toward trivialities while our collective ship is sinking. Fatalistic? Maybe. But the laws of physics, economics, and biology cannot be denied. The kind of growth we've come to accept as necessary is unsustainable on every level. The planet cannot sustain the resource depletion and waste, our economy cannot sustain the debts we must incur in order to continue growing, and our culture cannot sustain the moral and spiritual bankruptcy that ALWAYS accompanies materialistic consumption.
WE ARE EATING OURSELVES ALIVE, PEOPLE!
If you don't care enough about yourself to change your mind and your life, please consider doing it for the BILLIONS of children in the world who need to hear and see something new from not just the official leadership but from their parents, neighbors, teachers, mentors and other everyday folks who have a responsibility to preserve as much as possible of the natural world to sustain future generations of life.
Please visit the following links for more information about the real challenges we collectively face and on "changing the story" for the future:
The Crash Course
Daniel Quinn-Ishmael, etc.
PEACE.