Highly recommend: "An Inconvenient Truth"

[CGayle]

Continuing on Ed's theme, I highly recommend everyone see Al Gore's film,
"An Inconvenient Truth".  Gore has been presenting this talk all over the
world.  It is about the impact of global warming, which is scientifically
universally accepted as true.  He shows the data, and pictures of the impact
on nature.  It is very well done, explaining the science in very
understandable and entertaining ways, and lamenting the politics in denying
the reality of what, of many things, is happening to our planet.  It is a
tad depressing until he lets us know this is reversible, if the world starts
to intervene now.
Cynthia Gayle
Seattle




----- Original Message ----- 
From: <edwschreiber at earthlink.net>
To: <list at grouptalkweb.org>
Sent: Saturday, October 07, 2006 12:20 PM
Subject: Re: Some Thoughts


>
>  SOCIATRY OF THE ENDGAME
>
>
> Civilization is not sustainable. This is especially true for industrial
civilization. Traditional communities do not give up or sell the resources
on which their communities are based until their communities have been
destroyed. Those who want the resources will do what they can to destroy
traditional communities. Our way of living  industrial civilization
requires persistent and widespread violence.
>
> Civilization is based on a clearly defined and widely accepted yet often
unarticulated hierarchy. Violence done by those higher on the hierarchy to
those lower is nearly always invisible, that is, unnoticed.  When it is
noticed, it is fully rationalized. Violence done by those lower on the
hierarchy to those higher is unthinkable, and when it does occur is regarded
with shock, horror, and the fetishization of the victims.
>
> It is acceptable for those above to increase the amount of property they
control - this is called production. If we do not put a halt to it,
civilization will continue to immiserate the vast majority of humans and to
degrade the planet. The effects of this degradation will continue to harm
humans and nonhumans for a very long time.
>
> Given the current levels of violence by this culture against both humans
and the natural world, however, its not possible to speak of reductions in
consumption that do not involve privation, because violence and privation
have become the default of our culture. Yet some ways of reducing production
and consumption would consist of decreasing the current levels of violence
required and caused by the (often forced) movement of resources from the
poor to the rich  and would of course be marked by a reduction in current
violence against the natural world.  Personally and collectively we may be
able to both reduce the amount and soften the character of violence that
occurs during the ongoing and perhaps long-term shift. Or we may not. But
this much is certain: if we do not approach it actively  if we do not talk
about our predicament and what we are going to do about it  the violence
will almost undoubtedly be far more severe, the privation more extreme.
>
> >From the beginning, this culture  civilization  has been a culture of
occupation. These rich claim they own land, and the poor are often denied
the right to make the same claim. A primary purpose of the police is to
enforce the delusions of those with lots of pieces of green paper. Those
without the green papers generally buy into these delusions almost as
quickly and completely as those with. These delusions carry with them
extreme consequences in the real world. Those in power rule by force, and
the sooner we break ourselves of illusions to the contrary, the sooner we
can at least begin to make reasonable decisions about whether, when, and how
we are going to resist.
>
> >From birth on we are individually and collectively enulturated to hate:
hate life, the natural world, the wild, wild animals, women, children, our
bodies, hate and fear our emotions, hate ourselves. If we did not hate the
world, we could not allow it to be destroyed before our eyes. If we did not
hate ourselves, we could not allow our homes  and our bodies  to be
poisoned.
>
> The material world is primary. This does not mean that the spirit does not
exist, or that the material world is all there is.  It means that spirit
mixes with flesh.  It means also that real world actions have real world
consequences. It means this mess really is a mess. It means we have to face
this mess ourselves.  It means that for the time we are here on Earth
whether or not we end up somewhere else after we die, and whether we are
condemned or privileged to live here  the Earth is the point.  It is
primary.  It is our home. It is silly to think or act or be as though this
world is not real and primary.  It is silly to not live our lives as though
our lives are real.
>
> It is a mistake to base our decisions on whether actions arising from them
will or wont frighten fence-sitters, or the mass of Americans. Our current
sense of self is no more sustainable than our current use of energy or
technology. The cultures problem lies above all in the belief that
controlling and abusing the natural world is justifiable.
>
> Within this culture, economics  not community well being, not morals, not
ethics, not justice, not life itself  drives social decisions. Social
decisions are determined primarily (and often exclusively) on the basis of
whether these decisions will increase the monetary fortunes of the
decision-makers and those they serve.
>
> Social decisions are determined primarily (and often exclusively) on the
bases of whether these decisions will increase the power of the
decision-makers and those they serve. Social decisions are founded primarily
(and often exclusively) on the almost unexamined belief that the
decision-makers and those they serve are entitled to magnify their power
and/or financial fortunes at the expense of those below.
>
> If you dig at the heart of it - you will find that social decisions are
determined primarily on the basis of how well these decisions serve the ends
of controlling or destroying wild nature.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>


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