 Themes |
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| Our stories led to several common themes, and sparked new questions... | ||||||
| There's an instinct for defying authority, a rebelliousness. Also, a distaste for it, an unwillingness to acknowledge it, and no fear of it among some of us. We value individual choice very highly. And with our shifting attitudes over time, it feels as if we've lost the leadership that a higher authority can give. Even if we don't subscribe to external authority figures, we can be constrained by the need to perform, by expectations from others, by conformity. | ||
| Many of us concerned with sustainability were early recyclers. What else do we need to consider now? The choices are scary and overwhelming, because it brings our own economic sustainability up against our commitments to environmental sustainability - like choosing whether to commute to a new job. | ||
| Stopping the train requires us to change some things that are fundamental to our culture, such as commercialism, consumerism, the emphasis on growth, practices of planned obsolescence. This is daunting, but now doubly daunting as the rest of the world is adopting our way of life. But we just follow the money to see how things work; our culture has vested a lot of authority in money. | ||
| We just need to realize that it's us, we're part of the pull for the way things are. How do we support the oil companies in changing? What do we have to change personally? There's no "They" out there that is the enemy, or that can solve it. | ||
| It is very difficult for us to envision how it COULD work; a culture of hopelessness leads us to focus on the problems. We may feel we are unqualified on these subjects, and so hand them off, but democracy needs informed citizens to participate. And there HAVE been big changes - in recycling, "sin" taxes, oil companies tracking the triple bottom line. | ||
| We envision a culture of values, and we envision investing those values, like democracy, recycling, practical stuff, with our kids. Sometimes just exposing people (kids and adults) to new ideas is extremely powerful. | ||
| We notice that we are influenced by other people - parents, neighbors, teachers. Seeing environmental consequences is also powerful, such as watching a special on where garbage goes, or seeing the foam on a river caused by using detergent in our homes. And removing the influence of television seems to help our children retain their ability to think independently and creatively. | ||
| There may be opportunity, a loosening, as more and more people feel schizophrenic around this. That is, they might still be commuting, doing the old thing, but inside they're starting to look for new options. And then maybe something like the zero-emissions vehicles will let them act on that. | ||
| The truth shall set you free, so full disclosure, full information on everything, allows us to make the best choices. That's why green/sin taxes seem to make more sense than taxing income or increasing regulation. | ||
| Looking at this with Buddhist sensibilities, along with pagan traditions, it becomes clear that it's our disconnection with other living things and non-living things that still have life essence - that allows us to think we can just take advantage. We need a more holistic and connected view, and we need to listen to the voices within us that tell us when we need space, time alone, time in nature. We need to move from images of a constructed world to the natural world. | ||
| Reflecting on what we really need can open up more possibilities, because it's often less than we think. | ||
| Contributing to change can seem overwhelming. After extraordinary efforts, we tend to back off. And lots of people agree there's a train wreck ahead - but don't see or address the implications in their own lives. | ||
| People come from such different places about what will help. Many believe economic development and free trade are absolutely necessary, while others worry about the side-effects of those. And other groups, such as Chevron and the Sierra Club, that might actually have mutual interests, find themselve unable to cooperate beyond a certain level, because they have to manage appearances. It seems that something powerful could come from bridging extreme views. | ||
| Questioning the fundamental beliefs that lead to the consumerism and out of control growth means getting back to a more reasonable attitude toward work - like the 8 hour day we fought so hard for. Our frenzy around work prevents from looking at what we're really doing. | ||
| We are privileged to be able to sit and have this conversation. Many people seem to be hurting, but are unable to take time like this or consider these thoughts. And others wonder what we achieve by talking, thinking we should lean more toward activism. | ||
Authorities We Would
Prefer to Commit to:
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| If there are others who don't feel the freedom we assume, who needs to be here? Whom might we invite? | ||
| What actions are implied by our commitments to new sources of authority? | ||
| How can we express our values without putting up walls, making others wrong? | ||
| How do we help people who are trying to help people? How do we allow people to give their gifts? | ||
| How do we live in both worlds at once? |
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