I think the main reason efforts should primarily be local is because local is the best place to replace consumption with community: seeing ourselves as family, friends and neighbors rather than as "consumers."
I have a very generous sister-in-law who is always shopping for other folks--always doing things for people, but rarely doing things with people (other than shopping). I think she is very typical. We need more real ties to real people, with shared activities that happen in real time. But what is your family isn't local? I hope--when the oil is gone and the coal plants are finally shuttered (I'm willing to help)--that we still have a version of the internet. I just had a video conference with my 18 month old grandson in Australia. We sang songs and read books and I talked with him while he ate his lunch (virtual babysitter). Better for many aspects of Earth than flying to visit him. I remember attending one of Elan's simplicity workshops in about 2000. When people shared why they were there, it was very clear that most people weren't so much looking to have less stuff as they were looking for more meaningful connections with people--more community. _______________________________________________ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
