It has shut down public discourse, the engagement of free minds in policy making for the future.
Media is ubiquitous. It's voice overules the voice of individuals and small communities. It reels off violence all over the world like an endless shopping list.
Journalists who write with conscience are killed, imprisoned or shut out of the conversation entirely.
George Monbiot who writes a column for the Guardian, reports: "It is not just governments that have failed to respond, though they have failed spectacularly. Public sector broadcasters have systematically shut down environmental coverage, while allowing the opaquely funded lobbyists that masquerade as thinktanks to shape public discourse and deny what we face. Academics, afraid to upset their funders and colleagues, have bitten their lips."
But this is such a bleak platform from which to plan a future. It seems I must prepare myself to witness terrible events just to support an absolute guarantee to imprison and oppress everything on this planet as though all of life's history and culture was established for the entertainment of oligarchs.
It is nothing short of nihilism for me to carry on entertaining myself as though things will work out.
The only way the world can be saved is when we stop being cowed by statistics, trends, wars, injustice and hate — to challenge these trends, to create new trends and to respect life by listening to those who suffer and support them by lobbying for a fix.
Humans have created community since the beginning of agriculture 7,000 years ago. Domesticating plants and animals allowed us to observe how things grow and thrive. It also created social responsibility.
How can young minds thrive if all they faced with is tales of wars, colonialism and capitalism? How can we be fully human if any conversation that examines and supports social health is labelled and dismissed as sentimental?
How can we not see how capitalism has become a new religion when the economy is fixated on the stock market which doesn't mention the health and well being of societies?
When the most powerful nation in our world parades sociopathic behaviour and beliefs by investing most of their tax dollars on the military and wars in other countries, it follows that racism, misogyny, inequality, greed and fear - are instruments of nihilism. The art and sensibilities of human nature become unnecessary frills while cruelty and violence is the main currency.
Caring for community is done by going to meetings that talk of solving problems, helping those who need help, supporting programs and initiatives with your time and money. Celebrating life.
No comments:
Post a Comment