Thanks to Elan for the original post, and to Jeanne and Katie for their comments.
Once again, I think of a quote that has been giving me courage to remain active in community work since the 60s: Antonio Gramsci's "Pessimsm of the intellect, optimism of the will." (I believe this was the title of an article in the New York Review of Books). I switched from national/global activism in the 60s to local activism in the 70s. However by the late 90s I decided that it had been foolhardy to ignore global issues for so long. So now I think we need to build community--and activism--on both the local and global levels, both because our global ecosystem and global corporations are the context in which everything else is happening, and because net-working with communities around the world can be an important resource for ideas, inspiration, etc. Margaret >Lappé <http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=2117> & Gelbspan ><http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/12/10/165845/92>'s articles >struck me as essential reading - in two very different ways; we need the >brutal honesty of the latter and the call to courage of the former. > >It is rare for individuals in the sustainability mov't to take on the >possibility/reality of being past the tipping point, yet most of us >admit that the collective global reponses are just tinkering around the >edges of the problem. Myself, I think it's a moot point whether global >warming is already engaged in irreversible positive feedback or if we >cross that threshold in 8 years - either way it's a done deal. Humans >aren't going to re-engineer global society in 8 years. > >That leaves us where? Here in Tompkins County. > >Myself, I think the Vermont idea of having a Harvest and Courage >Celebration that Lappé attended is a good one. > > From Gelspan's article: >/ >"The key to our survival as a civil species during an era of profound >natural upheaval lies in an enhanced sense of community. If we maintain >the fiction that we can thrive as isolated individuals, we will find >ourselves at the same emotional dead end as the current crop of >survivalists: an existence marked by defensiveness, mistrust, suspicion, >and fear."/ > >-- Katie Q-J > > >[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >> Thank You for this. Although I have >>reservations about the "abundance" approach, a >>perspective su h as this provides a real >>antidote to despair which can have such a >>paralyzing effect. Another example of the bleak >>could be Ross Gelbspan's latest article, linked >>below: >> >> Beyond the point of no return >> >> It's too late to stop climate change, argues >>Ross Gelbspan -- so what do we do now? >> >> >> http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/12/10/165845/92 >> >> >> Or perhaps the two articles taken as a pair >>point up the vital necessity of the sustainable >>way. >> >> I would like to read Lappe's longer article. I >>know Greenstar has a lot of magazines of this >>type: I'll check and see if they have Shambhala >>Sun. The link to the magazine which >>unfortunately does indeed NOT link the Lappe >>article is http://www.shambhalasun.com/ >> >> >> > > Jeanne >> _______________________________________________ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
