Great Blue Heron, Cape Cod
The warning is that complacency and indifference could undermine what limited promise there is.
Ours is not a future limited to the U.S. but rather a future in which we are a key force, determining by our actions events around the planet. Our capitalistic endeavors, our military, our corporations will shape the Earth and affect every living being.
My resolution for the year ahead, therefore, is to face reality, not turn my gaze away from what is happening globally. Positive thinking, avoiding "being negative" in short, has gotten us where we are. As long as we tell ourselves everything is OK, or will be OK, we contribute to our doom. Catastrophic climate change, pollution, war, over-population and corporate greed are killing people and animals as I write.
photo by Steve Killian
It is tempting to join the greedy and simply live my life as if all were fine. I can fly to Cape Cod, walk in the woods, take close ups of the Great Blue Heron, eat plentiful lobster, and drink champagne. I can listen to romantic love songs live, breathe the fresh ocean air, and ignore the horrors that I know exist in far too many places. Wanting to act, I can change my phone company to Credo, which supports progressive, liberal causes. I cannot save Puerto Rico from future hurricanes, California from more wildfires, Myanmar from ethnic cleansing, Africa and Asia from widespread species extinction, the killing of elephants, the poisoning of fish and birds, the melting of glaciers and the ice at both Poles. Do I think making others aware of the killing of life on Earth by capitalistic corporations and selfish world leaders can make a difference? I don't know. But ignorance will never be bliss as we continue to encounter ever worse man-made disasters.
My resolution for 2018 is almost self-contradictory. On one hand I want to be aware, and promote awareness in others, of what we are doing to this once so beautiful world we live in. Praise the efforts of those who are doing good actions, like building up renewable energy sources, stopping pollution, and protecting animal life. They are the minority. Their efforts may not be sufficient. It is pointless to think that positive action alone is going to save us and our world. To do so just buys into the false positive attitude that turns into complacency and complicity. Awareness is the key.
On the other hand, I resolve to appreciate the beauty that still exists in the world. What makes nature and life in all its diversity worth saving? What makes humanity worth saving-- art, literature, compassion, love, and human rights? Is it possible to stop over-population, despite religion and sexual desire? Is an end to war and nuclear destruction even possible now? Is it possible to be happy in such a world as this without being utterly deluded?
For me it is not rational or meaningful to dismiss either pessimism or cynicism. I think it is optimism that has made the majority of people ignore how truly horrendous conditions are becoming. If you want to get rid of evil, pretending it doesn't exist is the worst method. Pretending that evil is defeated by being positive is exactly what allows evil to be triumphant. Naivete, religion, greed, self satisfaction, belief in the goodness of an evil, egotistical man brought us our current president. Facing reality, listening to the truth, being aware of the problems facing the world might have prevented our anachronistic, slave-based electoral system from giving us such an ogre.
We all like an upbeat ending; so let me end with more praise for nature and the dire need to value, worship, and protect it as much as we possibly can. "Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." --Albert Einstein
Alligator
Savannah Refuge
--Jameson
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