What can I say? The Justseeds installation was totally fun and I feel a bit of post-installation depression or something being back in my daily routine… Finding myself a little more pessimistic than usual and thought maybe other people may either be thinking similarly and i won’t feel so alone, or, be more positive and put my downturn in check. I find myself with more questions than answers these days… So, read below and respond if you have your own thoughts or ideas on these ridiculous questions… or some good reading that relates to some of these ideas?
Are humans capable of living sustainably with the rest of the life on this planet?
How do we turn our fear into love?
Is peace possible for humans or are we too afraid or too aggressive in our nature to achieve it?
What needs to happen for truly radical social change to occur in our culture (America?)?
How do we tear the capitalist system down? What do we build in it’s place?
What is our vision of a “post-revolutionary” world and what does the path look to get there?
How do we undo all our conditioning to be consumers?
How do I make my compost yield enough to cover my whole garden, when my table scraps and dead plant stems are not enough in themselves??
How can I do everything I want to do and not lose too much sleep or get addicted to caffeine!
AAAHHH!?
EEHHH!?
Bleargh!?
Socialisation! Well, at least for some of your questions… composting, unfortunately, is not my specialty : )
Our nature is determined by how we think, live and act. To change these is to change human nature. It’s not easy, but shows such as the one you just put on helps a little…
Maybe you will enjoy this: http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2009/03/newspapers-and-thinking-the-unthinkable/ about real revolution:
“The old stuff gets broken faster than the new stuff is put in its place. The importance of any given experiment isn’t apparent at the moment it appears; big changes stall, small changes spread. Even the revolutionaries can’t predict what will happen. Agreements on all sides that core institutions must be protected are rendered meaningless by the very people doing the agreeing. (Luther and the Church both insisted, for years, that whatever else happened, no one was talking about a schism.) Ancient social bargains, once disrupted, can neither be mended nor quickly replaced, since any such bargain takes decades to solidify.
And so it is today. When someone demands to know how we are going to replace newspapers, they are really demanding to be told that we are not living through a revolution. They are demanding to be told that old systems won’t break before new systems are in place. They are demanding to be told that ancient social bargains aren’t in peril, that core institutions will be spared, that new methods of spreading information will improve previous practice rather than upending it. They are demanding to be lied to.”
One of the most important steps towards all of that is diminishing human population. The easiest way to do that is to make women believe their lives are worth something, and make men agree.
Q: How do we turn our fear into love?
A: Wallow in vulnerability. Remember vulnerable moments (ie: when you’re not feeling so well) and the appreciation you had for the grace of others. Then apply this appreciation to everyday, and you will love everybody!
I’ve been reading Martin Buber, specifically Paths In Utopia, which I’ve found pretty inspiring in regard to humans’ ability to create new forms of society, talking about connecting with & validating traditions & communities, while moving forward in social self-organization. (It’s from 1949 though, and in the epilogue he states that: “the kibbutzim in Palestine are the one cooperative experiment that did not fail!” so, you know, grains of salt…)
I’ve also recently read some novels (which I guess could be loosely defined as science fiction) by Kim Stanley Robinson: Red Mars, Antarctica, Pacific Edge. He does some pretty great story-telling about present day anti-capitalist and environmental struggles, and put forward some solid vision about ways to proceed into the future. A little bit escapist, maybe, like all fiction… but very concrete, he understands the necessary connections between reality and idealism!
the answer dear friend, is to pull the wool over your OWN eyes and accept “Bob” into your life. THE CONSPIRACY is crafty and will do anything to try and steal your slack.