The tone of this piece may seem to be that of “drama” because of my sad and confused mental situation in this moment. However, I will be celebrating Thanksgiving and my birthday with family and an overabundance of food and beverage this coming Friday and Saturday in a relatively carefree manner. On Friday night I will be thoroughly enjoying the soulful honky-tonk music of Charley Crockett at Gruene Hall, New Braunfels, TX. And Sunday I will be seeing my lovely wife Betsy off for a week in New York City with friends. Moreover, I always find time to piss in the wind about lousy leadership, deplorable citizenry, and inappropriate governance versus having to simply grub out a living.
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“Come on Paul Bain Martin! You’re not Jesus for heaven’s sake! You are one of many Haves in this powerfully greedy, destructive and self-centered nation, with time and energy for playing Don Quixote. You do have it good! “
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My sins—espousal, familial, against friends, tribal, in ecological community—have been many, but I generally have been able to accept that I am a sinner and will have to simply try to do better in all these complex relationships. But today my emotional state is deeper and different. In this particular instance, I am feeling totally defeated, despondent, empty, perplexed, and guilty … even to the point of a very heavy and hurting heart unlike ever before.
My challenges and concerns at hand aren’t so different from many of the past. However, I think that in my final years (I’ll be only 72 yrs young on Sat, but I am “getting there”.) in a world void of peace* which is being devastated with humans and their domesticated species, consumption by this sector of life, and War among themselves and against symbioses, I like many others of Homo sapiens, and other species, am becoming overwhelmed physically, mentally, spiritually.
• My immediate tangible concern is a young Nicaraguan who legitimately is seeking asylum in the U.S. following his participation in peaceful protests of governmental actions and subsequent beatings and threats on his life. After turning in himself to ICE, he has been detained in virtual limbo in prisons in Texas, Mississippi, and currently in Folkston, Georgia for two months now.
• I do try to distribute monetary donations to some NGOS which are led and administered by folk in whom I have some considerable confidence. Nevertheless, I do have concerns that most of these not-for-profits do not have holistic and profound goals of sustainability* or indicators or measures of progress in that most primal of processes. I wonder if even the most well-meaning of these organizations, and individuals of these human-made entities (which includes me), are doing real good when they lack measurable objectives dealing with sustainability as well as monitoring to that end.
• I do despair about: >the amount of intra- and inter-human population disparity and the top-heavy power-structure of the Haves here on Eaarth; >greed; >the prevalence of hypocrisy within religious-, secular humanist-, social- and environmental activist-, “conservative”- and “progressive”-groups, especially with regard to the so-called golden rule; >ecological ignorance and lack of recognition of limits and of our overshooting the natural resources base; >artificiality and artificialization; >large air-conditioned homes and other built structures; >cars, asphalt; >plastic and stuff; and >bullshit-/information-overload versus a realization of knowledge/wisdom/prudence.
• It is frustrating that some close family members and some very good friends and many very good people in the world have no desire to learn about and try to understand basic principles and processes of ecology*. Despite their ignorance, or because of it, they have a blind Faith in can-do attitudes, artificialization of the ecosphere, and technological fixes. This mindset tears hope from my heart and soul and dampens aspirations for a quality life for all, including other species, for as long as possible. It shatters my dreams of working toward: living in concert with symbiosis/”nature”, a healthy ecosphere—locally and globally, and having quality life for all.
Without a foundation of the science of ecology, i.e., the search for knowledge of symbioses, homeostasis and sustainable livelihoods, it is impossible: to critically think in a comprehensive, profound, and holistic manner, to set goals and policy, and to take action … toward peace*. And without that ethos of humility, empathy, solidarity, sharing, science, peace, and sustainability, it is impossible to have the impetus to pass this knowledge on to our youth or the future citizens of this mess of an Eaarth.
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We are arrogant and ignorant little demigods, individually and collectively throwing caution to the wind and rampantly destroying topsoil, quality air and water, and biodiversity. We carelessly meddle with key life-giving components of symbioses, and we take the vast majority of net primary productivity as well as imprudently transform the chemically-stored energy of millions of years of photosynthesis in direct and indirect (excessive “renewable” energy systems) ways, both overwhelming homeostatic relationships of symbioses (“nature”), and/or and leaving relatively little daily photosynthate for maintaining these processes of quality life. We sleepily … and/or actively … have erroneous Faiths that we can fix the destruction of symbioses and the messes we’ve made as Eaarth through neoliberal capitalism, hastily developed entrepreneurships (i.e., without considering ecological consequences), technology, engineering, armaments, and arms.
7Ss / VV->^^
pbm
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*PEACE: Positively Ethical Applied Community Ecology. Social justice, humaneness, ecological sanity. An ethic of reciprocity and abiding by the Precautionary Principle. Open arms and open borders, … and without War—on other humans/on symbioses. Respect! We rather than me. Empathy for and solidarity with all humans/species/symbioses. http://www.paulpeaceparables.com/2015/07/01/respect-including-for-the-lbgtq-community/
Living sabiamente/wisely, simple, smally, slowly, strongly, sharingly, sustainably. [Read Wendell Berry. Listen to Get Together https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZd0eVqVQT4 .]
