So you know about the gulf, right? Of course you do. And it makes you sick.
And you've watched An Inconvenient Truth, and you have decided to align yourself with the remarkably united opinion of scientists that (1) are sane, (2) are honest and (3) have actually worked on climate science. That is to say, you know that human activity has reached the level of having a real effect on the planet.
So you do what you can - recycle, cut back on unnecessary purchases or trips, write to your congressthing.
That's wonderful. And you know it's wonderful. But there's a hole nestled deep in your mind. On one side of it, the ten dollar bill you found that you're pretty sure belonged to the lady up by the corner. On the other, your inability to rush down to Louisiana, save a family of pelicans, throttle Tony Hayward and plug the leak with his ... um, yacht. There has to be something more.
So what to do? Well, in the immortal words of Mickey Rooney: "Hey kids, let's put on a show!"
So here's what happened. I've been lazy of late- well, busy, but we'll get to that - and only looking at the Rec list. Tonight I was on the ekos rundown when it happened.
There was a comment. i had to respond. Here we go with the comment:
I think someone needs to create a super cool analog to an inconvenient truth... shown primarily to high schoolers, that rips the brainwashing right out of them. The decades of messages they've gotten to consume like swine, to want huge houses, to want vacations around the world. It has to be genius, deep, memorable, mythical.
Thanks to Blicero for making the comment.
I responded, and y'all can read my response if you want, but here's the basic idea. I thought perhaps college age would be more appropriate. And then ... and then I began to wonder, if you wanted to do something like that, if you wanted to present something through the media to young/youngish folks, in order to change minds about consumption, what would be a good way? What would be a good story?
I've written two diaries before tonight. One was a ridiculous bit of fluff about the environment that was rightly ignored - I later discovered George Carlin did a far more effective job of making my point. The other, though, was an open call for ideas about how to contribute to Democratic or progressive goals. There weren't too many folks around to respond, but those that did had ideas, and that made it wonderful in my eyes. It felt like a good idea session.
We can have a good idea session about this. This is, I believe, the great challenge of our time. Some of us can offer expertise, and some of us can offer sweat, and some of us can offer the boiling stories in our heads.
I'm one of the last group. I believe that a story can be told to change minds. I believe that something crafted in our minds can spread across the world and light fires. I've seen it, I've felt it. You have too.
I don't know what story needs to be told. But maybe We do.
That, dear friends, is what I'm asking for tonight. I want your ideas, I want your stories. I'll share mine as well. Can we craft a narrative with power? The specifics are wide open, as is the format - fiction, non-fiction, movie, series, book, graphic novel, street art. Anything.
Please don't be shy. Characters or plots, just an image. Send your thoughts in and we can see what connections arise. I am a single father of two newly living on a rural homestead while working full-time, so I can't promise that I would connect with each of you instantly, but I'll try. And ideas and connections between all of you are more likely to bear fruit. In any case, I just want to know the fruit is there.
I have apple trees on my property. I knew they were apple trees when I moved in, I knew apples would grow on them. Still, to see it happen is miraculous.