On Anger

So, I haven't posted in a while, partially because of Hell Weeks at work and because of school starting, but mostly because of Renny visiting before she leaves for Scotland. However, Renny and I had a discussion last night that I think is worth noting since I've been thinking about it constantly since we had it.

Renny posed the statement that she feels that our generation just isn't angry enough about what is going on in our world today. People either play ignorant to the problems that we have or feel that the world is too far gone to anything about.

For the mostpart, I agree. There is a tendency for our generation to be completely wrapped up and self-absorbed, thinking about their own personal problems and not the problems of the world. Whether this is because people are genuinely too stupid to realize the peril that we are facing or because thinking about the major problems of the world just becomes so overwhelming that they shut down and withdraw into themselves, I am not sure. Either way, we need to break out of this mindset.

Renny and I completely disagree with how we should break out though. Renny is a "big picture" thinker, concentrating on all of the problems of the moment at the same time and feels that everyone else should do a similar thing. I, on the other hand, have a tendency to focus on what I can do in a moment. If I can cut down my own energy consumption, support local businesses, recycle more, and encourage my friends to do the same, that's what I focus on. No, it's not enough, but it allows me to make a greater impact than if I was to stress out trying to worry about everything all at once.

I'm not saying that Renny doesn't do what she can in the moment. Actually, it's quite the opposite. I am constantly impressed by how much of an effort and change she consciously puts into her every day life and have taken a lot of my healthy and environmentally friendly habits from her example. I honestly am striving to make an impact like she has. However, what I do think is that she frustrates and stresses herself out quite unnecessarily by trying to figure out how she can make a global impact right away.

She has the right idea though. Our generation isn't nearly angry enough. Maybe we can't save the world by ourselves. Maybe the world will still descend into destruction no matter how much effort we put into change. Maybe one of us aren't able to make a global environmental, economic, or political change. That's not the point.

Every single one of us will die at some point, right? Well, how would you rather die? Fat, unhappy, and with painful suffering over twenty years, or in good shape, doing the things that you love? We may not live any longer by taking care of our bodies through exercise and good nutrition, but I can guarantee that we will enjoy the life that we live more.

The same principle applies to the Earth. We may not be able to stop the global crisis, but with minor changes to all of our daily lives, we can enjoy our time on Earth more and make it worth our short time here. And maybe, if we're really lucky, we might just make the Earth last longer.

I'm not asking you to go out and hug trees, to stop deforestation, to quit smoking, to quit driving, to quit eating processed food, to stop shopping at Walmart, or to even make a single radical change to your life.

What I am asking you to do is to make small changes to your life that really you shouldn't even notice. Turn off lights, monitors, and TVs when you aren't using them. Take advantage of your local recycling facilities. Turn down your heat and air conditioning a single degree. Shop at mom and pop stores sometimes. Buy local food if you can. Buy from businesses that you respect the ethics and business practices of. Read a news article now and then. Talk with your friends, families, and neighbors more. And most of all, don't accept your situation because you think you can't change anything. Maybe you can't make a big change on your own, but you may know someone who can. Complain about your situation, get angry. When enough people get angry, change happens.

I was going to write about a Libertarian argument that I just read as well, but I have to go to class and I want to make that a separate post if I make it.