Interactions of Values (Marginalization–Sometimes Resulting in Death, for Those Who Aren’t Complacent and Complicit … and Who Are Not Running with the Herd Even Though the Herd Is Obviously Immoral and Unethical in Its Actions and Directions)
On Saturday, May 12, 2018 at St. Louise Kneuper Martin’s place in Devine, Texas, we had devout and not-so-devout Roman Catholics, members of the Orthodox church, Methodists, Baptists, Church of Christians, Pentecostals, secular humanists, mostly agnostics (I don’t believe there are actual theists or atheists, since one can never truly KNOW the Truth), and ignostics come together to celebrate Mom Louise’s birthday and Mothers Day. In some sense we discussed nothing of significance.
On the other hand we discussed the only things on Eaarth of significance: everyday life, livelihoods, gains in power over Land and people, ways of increasing personal health, and spirituality, … . And for most present this resulted in human bonding (which can be positively significant if we put a united status to work for the common good and it promotes ecological community health). [We did dance around and avoided talking about some very important, but sensitive, issues, including old personal relationships. One brother has expressed regrets for the lack of presence of certain family members–or of our not learning about the status of a number of folk missing at the celebration–because of deterioration of one-on-one, marital or immediate inter-family relationships and subsequent taboos, … and I share these regrets with this brother!
Discussions of power did mostly dismiss with prejudice those present who don’t buy into unsustainable livelihoods and neoliberal capitalistic systems, even though current nonsustainable systems and conventional capitalism are processes which are inherently immoral and unethical in realizing and reinforcing inequality and inequity. At St. Louise’s celebration I personally mostly only listened to the conversations taking place on this beautiful Saturday of chatting and of considerable conspicuous consumption (including by yours truly) of fossil-fuel dependent, industrially-produced food. As I get older during this particular political period in the U.S. and the world and in an extended family which has for the most part bought into the status quo of the current socio-political/economic ideology, I am de facto more and more marginalized.
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Why am I trivialized?
I propose that the only strategies, tactics, policy and actions which make sense in efforts toward holistic, profound and comprehensive ecological community health involve an Eaarth which transitions to an Earth in which humans live sabiamente (wisely), simply, smally, slowly, sharingly, sustainably (the 6 Ss). And although there is lip service and pseudo-efforts toward such an end, there are few around me who believe we need to begin such a narrative and process toward quality life for all, including other species. … Many do get nostalgic for a simple life of the past when (in our fantasies) life was great! Yet we will not give up stuff and money and power over Nature and relatively powerless humans in order to realize some of the peace and harmony and holistic community health and spirituality of some communities of the past (and present). … We do have gringo-dichos about unintended consequences after poorly-planned actions (or even relatively thoroughly-planned actions), and the need to critically think and appraise the state of community to thoroughly plan and to be very cautious and tentative prior to taking action, yet we largely ignore the Precautionary Principle in every day life. … We have a Golden Rule we teach and preach and politick, and yet we do we can–including at the politician, preacher, & teacher levels–to basically make the Golden Rule an illusion, especially as a practiced holistic, profound, and comprehensive principle. … We have recently elected and supported a thoroughly immoral and unethical, extremely arrogant and narcissistic jerk and ignoramus as an abhorrent leader, who is the antithesis of: honor, integrity, truthfulness; knowledge, wisdom, prudence; humility; temperance, frugality; respect, equanimity, liberality, graciousness, humaneness, justice; and sustainability.
Oh!!! But yes! “I” am also “You” (or “We” and “Them”). We humans are social animals, and “by good and bad” I/we are a part of a “community” of people. I/we are all a part of the problem. … At the end of a short film on positively ethical applied community ecology which I used in one of my lessons on biology and ecology at St. Philip’s College, one of my heroes, H.T. Odum* opens his presentation up to questions and is asked if he used a car to arrive at the site of his presentation on the university campus. And if so, how could he justify utilizing such in appropriate technology? Dr. Odum replied that in his attempts to help others to learn about: the sad status of space-ship Eaarth, energetics and appropriate technologies, and sustainable livelihoods, he is a part of the community including its inappropriate technologies and practices. Therefore as a member of human “community”, he is also a sinner, at least until the community and its values, livelihoods, and practices are transformed and the original and mortal sins are atoned for through processes of learning about “Positively Ethical Applied Community Ecology/PEACE”, reconciliation, affirmative actions, reparations, etc., etc. . … At the wonderful celebratory-gathering of humans this weekend, my daughter** asked why I have begun to perhaps even over-use an android phone after bad-mouthing such technology for so many years. My rationale, as sinful as it might be, is that I needed it to promote my bicycle trip for sustainability across 2415-miles of the NE and SE U.S. And I continue to use this inappropriate tool (i.,e. inappropriate for the long term with respect to the fossil fuel needed to manufacture it and maintain it as a communication tool) in order to push for a transition to human communities which practice the 6 Ss mentioned previously. As the simple but magnificent poem, “Me? We!!” of Muhammad Ali and the little book, “It Takes a Village” of Hillary Rodham Clinton try to get across, we humans are social animals and it does take a “community” of unified humans to make significant change toward good.
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But why should we worry about life, quality of life and the condition of Eaarth? What is the meaning of human existence***? The reality is that life makes no sense! On the other hand life makes all the sense in the world!!
What gives life real meaning are the Truths of Nature and biophilia. The closer “Nature” is to Nature vis-a-vis “Artificial or Synthetic”, the more meaning it has. It is meaning given to us through genetics, and the closer local Earth is to that in which we originally evolved as Homo sapiens, the better. Moreover, for additional meaning, ecological units such as family, deme, and various social groups such as clubs, schools, crews, political parties, even churches, etc. are imperative … because we evolved as social animals.
Also, environmentally and probably epigenetically, for me in particular it is the 6 Ss which give real and Truthful meaning to my existence. This was imparted to me through my parents, rural community, the influence of Catholicism, and an ideology coming out of the 1960s and 70s, but especially through St. Louise Kneuper Martin.
Finally, what gives my life meaning is the process of the scientific quest for knowledge. I SEEK to understand despite the recognition that we as individual humans, or collectively as unified populations and communities, will always be ignorant.**** … I suppose that is the power of (ever-changing) myth (Joseph Campbell)???
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*Dr. Odum and his wife wrote Prosperous Way Down (2001, University Press of Colorado. This book is in the spirit of an upcoming conference, “Downward Mobility”, at the Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, June 18-20.
**My very precious and pragmatic daughter has a BS degree from Texas A&M University in Bioenvironmental Science, and is a wonderful reuser, recycler, and minimalist.
***E.O. Wilson. 2014. The Meaning of Human Existence. Norton Co.
****B. Vitek & Wes Jackson. 2008. The Virtues of Ignorance. University Press of Kentucky
