December 16, 2004

• I’ve been spending a lot of time at Catalyst4Change at tribe.net just so you know what inspired the thoughts below (and/or if you’d like to join in the discussion at C4C). Sustainability, how to spread the word and how to get there is the current topic seeming to occupy our thoughts.

  
  

  I don’t think things will or can change globally until a majority of people come to some life altering point in their lives where life cannot proceed without that change. Unfortunately… such an event will most likely be cataclysmic in nature, with the survivors having no other choice but to embrace a microcosmic environment over the macrocosm we live in now. The Majority of people are simply too self-centered at the moment to see any other way but what is most convenient to their desires. It will not be until the only way to survive becomes the most convenient to one’s needs, rather than desires, that real changes will occur.
  
  In the meantime, people like us can only brainstorm (as we have been and will continue to do) and gather information and skills that have been lost or set aside in the face of industrial convenience. When there are no more medically trained doctors, there will still be herbalists. When there are no more skyscrapers, there will still be carpenters and blacksmiths. When there are no more supermarkets, there will (hopefully) still be farmers. When there are no more cars, there will still be horses.
  
  IMO, the “best” civilization framework to hang our future on would be based on the loosely allied pre-Romanized Greek city-states with their emphasis on intelligence, personal excellence, and self-accountability. The Romans started the ruin of everything with their devouring imperialism. They cannibalized every civilization they came into contact with and erased anything they didn’t consider compatible with their own goals and beliefs. Many of the difficulties we face today have their basis in the early Roman mind-set of domination and subjugation. The only thing I respect the Romans for is not paying their politicians and Julian the Blessed, the last Pagan emperor who attempted to reconcile all the religions in his empire by putting forth the idea of equality and right action over dogma.
  
  When it comes to wealth, I think those currently in power will come to find out too late that knowledge, not money, is the only treasure worth having. We, as students and teachers, can only hope to share what we know with others who will receive us as equals. Those with power only gain it through the will of the men and women under them. That’s something our current crop of politicians have lost sight of. Without us, they have no power. So if we choose to put our power in the hands of someone other than the “elected” officials, they will cease to be our leaders.
  
  I have great hope for the future, but I’m also a realist. If things continue as they are, and the Majority chooses to remain blind to the direction in which they are dragging the world, things can only end badly. Unfortunately, I don’t see any way to open their eyes short of letting them royally mess things up for everyone. They have to want to see the truth before the truth will present itself.

  
  

  But telling them truth doesn’t mean they’ll accept it. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. The more we try to make them see the error in their actions, the more they will resist. And the more we insist, the more they will label us as dissenters and UnAmerican.

  
  

  Appearing unAmerican is a real problem. Freedom of speech is in the intensive care unit and the administration is threatening to pull the plug. The media is a lapdog, while the internet is a bird. They have the media trapped under their heel and the internet in their hand. And they keep threatening to crush both. Fortunately while the media is content to roll over and lick the foot that oppresses them, the internet is more likely to peck the hand that seeks to hold it and take a crap in their eyes as it flies free.
  
  How can we organize and educate those who are ready for change? The obvious answer is the Internet. It’s the only free and potentially international resource left. While some people online may be biased, all opinions, positive and negative, are available to anyone who’s willing to seek them out. There is hope through the proliferation of ideas and techniques, groups and forums. Though I have always disliked the term “networking” as a shallow substitute term for socializing, I think online networking is exactly what we must do.
  
  There’s no denying that we are spread out all over the country and world. There’s is little possibility of casually meeting some e-friends because they live too far away. But through the internet, we are all connected. We can exchange ideas and build communities. Because there is a degree of anonymity, those who use a pseudonym can say what they need to say without being labeled unAmerican for voicing dissenting opinions. And the people who need to find us, will find us.
  
  I know that not everyone who needs us is online. As little as I like the idea of wasting paper, the only thing I can suggest is that someone starts printing up an anonymous zine of discussions like this one and leaves them in public places where they will be found. People are naturally curious. If they see some paper with printing on it, they’ll pick it up and read at least a few lines. Those who are already curious about such things will continue to read and pass it on to others or leave the zine where it will be found again.

  • 7:53 pm
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