43 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 9 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H4'ed 7/14/10

Self Defense for Radicals: Collective Soul + Activist Heart

By       (Page 1 of 4 pages)   No comments
Message Mickey Z.
Become a Fan
  (6 fans)

In his book, Climate Wars: The Fight for Survival as the World Overheats, author Gwynne Dyer presents a series of scenarios that could potentially play out (soon) as climate change advances, e.g. several million dying in cyclones and floods in Bangladesh, the US building a mined fence to stop "climate refugees" from the South, tens of millions of Chinese dead in droughts"and then things get truly catastrophic.

Such so-called "gloom and doom" is often greeted with either denial or mockery but staring dead-on into the reality we've all helped create is the first step in the following outline for personal, intellectual, and global self-defense.

1. Accept our role

*We're not victims (remember: victims are helpless) but we are volunteers. Due to our compliance and/or silence and/or inaction, we've played a role in bringing our culture to the brink of social, economic, and environmental collapse.

*We're not being "attacked" for our choices. For the record, I prefer to save the word "attack" for, say, those being targeted by American predator drones (subsidized by our tax dollars).

*We're not being judged as guilty. It's a little too late for that.
*We're not being judged as innocent either. We're all participants and/or witnesses (see above).

*We may think it's not "fair" that we're the generation that has to change everything about the way we live"but to paraphrase Clint Eastwood in The Unforgiven: "Fair's got nothing to do with it."

*We are not alone. In the book (and movie), The Grapes of Wrath, Tom Joad sez: "Maybe we're not all individual souls, but maybe we're all part of one big soul." Incredibly basic, yes"but within that simplicity lies what I see as the secret: If we were to view all living things--along with ourselves--as part of one collective soul, how could we not defend that soul by any means necessary?

2. The 4 R's of defending our collective soul
(to be taken as literally or metaphorically as you choose)

Reality and Reaction

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3  |  4

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Must Read 3   Valuable 3   Inspiring 2  
Rate It | View Ratings

Mickey Z. Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Mickey Z. can be found on the Web at http://www.mickeyz.net.
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Five reasons why Americans won't resist

The Topic of Cancer

"We need to stop this culture before it kills the planet": A conversation with Derrick Jensen

Porn and the CIA (Your tax dollars at work)

Myth America: A Stand-up Tragedy

Downsize or Modify? A Conversation with Noam Chomsky

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend