Reply #7: It can happen. Did you read, "From Greed to Green?" [View All]

[Senior citizen]

I think that's the name of the book. This guy was a real estate developer. Somehow he got roped into giving a talk about building homes and offices that were energy efficient. Since he didn't know a darned thing about it, he picked up a book on the subject. He found the book very interesting, and he gave a good talk. Somehow he ended up founding a council on energy efficient construction that went first national and then international. It just happened to him--it had never even occurred to him to look for something like that. But when he read the book, he realized that what he was doing was so unethical that it should be criminal. And he got ideas for how things could be done differently. And when he gave his talk, people thought he was an expert on the subject, and came to him for advice. So he started doing the things he'd talked about, and found out that he was really good at it. Bingo!

Many people are only a paycheck away from poverty, and not in a position to weather an economic depression. The value of the dollar is falling, fewer people have faith in the stock market, and we just got a rise in interest rates from the fed.

What capitalism does is make life unsustainable except through submission to capitalism. Violence is used to force indigenous peoples off their land, and multinational corporations force small farmers out of business. Most of us can't survive without a job, and often that job entails doing things that we don't want to do--a good example of that is someone in human resources who gets paid to fire other people so that the company can outsource their jobs. Sooner or later they'll have fired so many people, the company won't need them any more. I call that kind of job, "digging your own grave."

The only answer is to try to make life sustainable again, which means opting out of the system as much as possible, and simplifying our lives. Many DUers buy at co-ops and try to spend their money on fair trade items instead of big brands, even if it costs a little more. Some use freecycle.org instead of giving old stuff to charities and buying new stuff when we need it. DU itself is an example of opting out, since for many of us it totally replaces the mass media. People with gardens are in a good survival position, because in worst-case scenarios, they will still be able to grow stuff to eat, stuff to sell, and stuff to trade for other stuff.

Having a family complicates things, because it is hard to refuse things to people who don't understand why, and might just think you're being mean. So you have to help your family educate themselves, until they're the ones pushing for simplification and a sustainable life.

I'm an addictive personality myself, so I know how easily people get hooked on stuff, and money is really addicting. But because I know my weaknesses, I can often outsmart myself by simply avoiding temptations that I know I would succumb to if exposed. And a lifetime of having to adapt to different circumstances, taught me that I could. When I was homeless, I had nothing, so I learned to get by on very little. Then I lived aboard a small sailboat for 12 years, at a mooring, and didn't have electricity, running water, or most of the things many people consider necessities. When I was fortunate enough to get into senior housing, the first thing I did was go hog wild, but after a while I settled down and realized that I didn't need to use things just because I have them. My electricity bill this year is half what it was last year, because I stopped turning lights on when I didn't need to, gave away the stupid cordless phone that drained electricity AND needed batteries, and went back to the little plug-in phone that works even if the electricity goes out, stopped using the central air conditioning, and went back to putting more clothes or blankets on if it is cold, and taking them off it is hot (I'm in San Diego, so this isn't possible for people in harsher climes), etc.

The big multinationals aren't paying people in poorer countries enough to enable them to buy the stuff they're producing, and they depend on us. As we withdraw support, they will begin to crumble, because there is no army in the world violent enough to force people to buy stuff they don't want. Material things can never take the place of things like freedom, democracy, friendships, and creative ideas. If we know what we want, the persuaders can spend millions on ads to change our minds, but they won't have any effect. Even the government depends on us. They're not spending their own money, they're spending our money. If we don't have a say in how they spend it (remember "no taxation without representation"), we're likely to stop giving it to them.

But it isn't easy. Radical vegetarians sometimes say that anyone who wants to eat meat should have to go out and kill the animal themselves. In that vein, I don't see why anyone who wants to put gas in their car shouldn't have to kill an Iraqi so they'll understand the situation. Would I feel the same if I had a car? Well, somebody gave me a van once, I drove it for a while, decided it was too expensive, and traded it for a rowboat. We all make choices. Knuckleheads like me learn things the hard way, but the smart money figures it out without having to live through it first.

I donated to, campaigned for, and voted for Kerry, even though I knew damned well that the corporate parties don't care about the people they supposedly represent. I've donated, contacted the media, and am demanding recounts, even though I know they won't accomplish anything. "Globalize Liberation" is a book that offers hope for a better world. But there was another book a few years ago, "The Culture of Make Believe," by Derrick Jensen, that explains why people who care about things continue fighting even after they know the situation is hopeless. Who was it said, "A lost cause is the only one worth fighting for?"

Once you understand the problem it feels wrong to continue to be part of it, so you look for ways to be part of the solution. And when you find it, please let me know.

:hi: