| Stupid or not stupid? (Is this the only choice we have?) |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Keywords: andrew harvey, embercombe, love, stupid, wisdom
|
|
| Categories: Society, Soul
|
|
| Published on: Mar 17, 2009 |
|
| Last updated on: Mar 17, 2009 |
|
| Add to favourites |
|
 In the week where climate change shocker Age of Stupid premiered and I had my own moment of glory in the local paper (crowing again about quitting my job to save the planet), I was reminded of that old chestnut: "Live each day as if it were your last, because one day you'll be right".
Kick starting this thought process was a man called Mac from the Embercombe eco-community - a living experiment in how we might live and love each other better, just down the road from me - who not only wisely said "there's only us", but also offered caution when a film like Age of Stupid says this is our 'last chance'. That shock tactic he warned can cool quickly as the days, months and even years pass, and furthermore why wouldn't we live every day as though it were our last - not out of shock, but as a sacred act?
We will all die. Civilisations do end. The planet will be fine. The question is one of life-extension for our species and those we might take down with us if we don't live more intelligently, less stupidly perhaps.
I met Mac at the recent formation of the Devon Climate Action Network (Devon CAN!) where over 50 representatives from all over the county came together, to come together in a more concerted effort, to minimise the effects of our effect on the global climate. A week later, I was setting out Exeter's first Eco-fayre endeavouring all day to drive folks into our modest expo of easy and affordable eco-living. The week ended with an unexpected ticket to the Stupid film showing, with post-mortem vox-pop thereafter and last night I put together the latest Transtion podcast.
Trouble is, it doesn't seem enough and I feel the need to up the stakes further. Now, as far as I'm concerned, and according to a growing range of sources that I trust, it seems we face a situation no less dangerous than that uncertain time before the rise of Nazi Germany - not the first pivotal point of its kind in human history, but certainly one of the most recent and horrific times where people, fearing the worst, may have hoped it would go away. And whilst many did act, it's reasonable to argue that many lives could have been saved if earlier action had been taken.
At the premiere, climate change expert Mark Lynas mentioned that we humans are hard-wired for short-term survival. We don't appear to be that good at seeing the writing on more distant walls. And even when we do get a sense of long-term danger, we usually request that something can, should or must be done to sort it all out - but not usually by ourselves; see: credit crunch and demands that the government should 'do something' or 'take drastic measures'.
I feel obliged to tell you that this rant may just be one of the harmonies (or should that be dis-harmonies) of the swansong of humanity in our time - this time, the Age of Stupid - where we have the chance to stop climate change, but may not bother. However, I also feel obliged to say that we need to do more than resist or perish in this dismal scenario. We need new stories and fresh dreams. It's not just a matter of 'stupid is as stupid does' or doesn't do. What about an Age of Wisdom? An age where we become all that we truly are, leaving far behind the stories that got us into this mess.
Compelling as it is, the Age of Stupid leaves us feeling like teenagers who must tidy our rooms; we know it's for the best, but can't be bothered just now.
How about an Age of Love? Are we "sex-starved, hungry, animals - dying" as mystic Andrew Harvey put it. Or are we more than stupid/not stupid? I know we're much, much more than that. And if only we could see it, we could live it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
| Carl Munson, 45 |
| A square peg tired of endeavouring to live out ... |
| Exeter |
| United Kingdom |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|