What Can I Do???

I know  I’ve written about this before but tonite, I was at a gathering where we were defining and discussing our country’s evils when someone asked, once again, but “what can I do about it?”

I did not respond with my normal either 1)“that is not really the whole question you are asking” – the whole question is what can I do WITHOUT changing my life style, WITHOUT it costing me too much, WITHOUT having to stop my life-as-usual or sacrifice anything; or 2) that is not really the question – the real question is “what to I WANT to do about it?

Instead I decided to directly answer that ‘can’ question and began listing the concrete things we could/should be doing:

•         Never buy anything new (except toilet paper maybe) 
•        Never buy ANYTHING in PLASTIC!
•         Only buy organic – if you can’t ‘afford’ organic, you can’t afford to buy it
•          The least we can do is recycle (which of course begins with not buying things that are in containers needing recycling or throwing out), conserve resources
•         Grow your own food organically (of course, especially including beginning with organic seeds)
•         Make connections, conscious choices where you spend your money: NO corporate buying (including fuel, food, etc.); support womyn especially with children, men of color
•         Share your resources, privileges, access to necessities
•        Get rid of ‘things’ around your home, in your life
•       Open your living space to others, live cooperatively, live where you can walk, bike, public transport to what you need
•       Make money doing something you love, something meaningful, something sustainable, something that does not contribute to the genocide of people and destruction of the mother earth
•        Spend a minimum of three hours a day doing actions working for change
•       Meet with your critical thinking/action community group weekly to really develop and this list, while we figure out together how really to work together for change

Which then brings us to what do I WANT to do?

And who can blame us for not wanting to change our lives as usual? After all, we are ‘told’ – inundated, hammered over the head, reminded in every book, every lesson, every moment of our waking lives really – that we need a career, a house in the country, children, success as measured in how many things we own, how many years of education we have, what we can buy, etc.

We are taught not only that we need these things, but that we deserve the things we get, that we have somehow worked hard, studied harder, and are the ‘special’ people who are granted the knowing that we will obtain the security of stuff. 

But perhaps the biggest ‘disservice’ at best, destruction of our humanity closer to the truth, is our shared belief in this country that it is not only okay to have more then others, but it is desirable as well as deservable.

Few want to own that we have whatever we have because this country is carefully shaped to ensure what everyone has (or doesn’t have).

Fewer still want to own that EVERYTHING we have in this country, we have because of killing people, enslaving people, occupying and stealing other people's lands and lives - and we continue doing the same. We are currently attacking at least 6 countries in the world, have over 1000 military bases that we know about, and spend as much on our military as every single nation TOGETHER spends on their militaries.

Even those of us who live 'frugally' or consciously, still have access to the empire, whether we like it or not: the asphalt on the roads, the access to food 24/7, electricity - etc.etc.etc.

I say this not to encourage depression or helplessness or futility - but to inspire us into ACTION; for it is only when we ACT against war, militarism, all the isms that we will find true wealth, true peace, true spirituality, our true paths.