Reflections

            In our last class we watched the short documentary “Crossroads” and discussed what we thought were the major themes and some of its flaws as well. We decided the biggest hole in the film was that there was no proposed solution or alternatives to what we are doing currently. Without this vital piece of the puzzle, how are we supposed to move from ideals to reality? It’s easy to protest which makes everyone a rebel, but protesting without proposed solutions is more along the lines of whining (even if its whining for a good cause). Rebels without a cause are just attention seekers in my opinion. If we want to evoke real change we must come together and plan incremental, practical steps that will work with the current system to make small pivotal change and ease our way into a more environmentally friendly future.

            It is easy to play the blame game when trying to pinpoint what the root cause of our environmental problems is. Is it the bi-partisan political system, big corporations that pollute, the media that ignores big problems or even our own materialistic culture? I believe it’s a combination of all these that turns the next wheel in all consuming machine we’ve created. The part that is most disturbing is that I don’t think it was any group’s malicious intentions that got us here. It may have been the pursuit of the “American dream” that got out of hand as people wanted more and more or could be attributed to the way competition works normally in nature, the difference being that we now have the power to affect the future of the planet. So for me, the blame game is redundant, it is a defense mechanism people use to point out others flaws while not willing to correct their own.

            I believe one of biggest flaws in our education system is that we focus on studying how objective subjects interact with the world not how our own actions affect the world. Is intelligence having mastered all the arts and sciences or having complete knowledge of how each of your actions effects the world and the people in it? My first proposed solution is to supplement our education system with reflections on our lives. I strongly believe we would not act a certain way if we saw the negative side affects. It is this blindness that has gotten out of hand. In the film, one of the contributors said that when we pretend, we become. So what we if we practiced intensive reflection from a very early age? Wouldn’t that shape and completely change how we identify as humans? That’s not for me to answer, but I believe the outcome would be a beneficial one. Other obvious solutions are mere lifestyle changes, eating food from organic and sustainable farms, using products that don’t pollute our water and soil, buying clothes from sustainable/responsible companies, riding bikes/driving electric cars, composting, reusing, recycling and the list goes on and on. I’m a firm believer however, that big change will come from complete structural changes. The way our political system works, how companies operate and  how our society  perceives the world will only change from the top. Many liberal activists remain on the bottom and protest these big abstract organizations (industry, political realm), some even run and live on sustainable farms or communities while the machine is still working away at depleting our world little by little. So do we run or do we abide by the system? Do we disguise ourselves as something to get inside and make changes from the top? When the tools are given to us to make the real changes, the changes that will change our lifestyles for ever, are we prepared to use them?

The image I've used is a an eerie metaphor for how without reflecting on our actions, the outcome of what we do can have repercussions we don't even see. The man is looking away, while his reflection doesn't follow.