Kelly: Even though my wife and I have mostly behaved pretty well in the last sixty or seventy years or so, we have also made a "few" mistakes. They, just like all the "good" we may have done can't be erased, neither need we be "blamed" or need we blame ourselves or others for their mistakes or need we worship others for their good deeds or proud of ours. People, like other organisms, respond to complex changes in environment/circumstances over time and are changed, for better or worse, because of that complex situation. It is a struggle to go against the grain (spontaneous pun) of roughly 15,000 years of human history, when, approximately, we began moving away from "grace," followed by an ever-increasing conversion from being in a state of dynamic equilibrium with ecosystems to one of being koyanosquatsi. Seeing, as you say, without prejudice--giving up egocentrism, is a difficult process, but one which is essential to re-gain lost gracefulness and an integrated way of actual thinking (aka critical thinking) instead of the ungraceful habit of merely opining.
"Advancing Toward Eden" (ATE) is not complete; in fact I think it never will be. It is not an act of egocentrism--at least I am trying hard to keep if from being so, therefore, I hope it can be a catalyst or a unifying force that is composed of an infinite number of individuals being thoughtful rather than merely opinionated. Somehow, I hope that we will find a way to avoid sounding threatening while stimulating others to explore reality in their own way rather than to find refuge in fantasy, thus being susceptible to demagoguery, spin, and other deceptive behavior that has been warped into a culture rather than being limited to its basic purpose (just plain ego) of individual survival. All I have published so far that specifically mentions the concept can be found through (follow the link(s) in the references) http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol7/iss2/resp7/ But everything I am, and everything I hope to be, is imbued with that spirit. But it is still a puny effort given the scale of its "ambition." I hope that you and others will end up being more responsible for whatever "it" becomes than I will. Whatever I have done or will do, I owe to the synthesis I have enjoyed with others and just being in the state of grace for little scraps of my life when I have been able to open up the "book" of Nature, and be open to "her" grace, like the animal I am, forgetting, at least for a moment, that I am become arrogant, destroyer of worlds. While no individual effort can, or need turn back 15,000 years of cultural development, it is my hope that that exponential curve can be reversed in the future, accelerating the advance of the TREND TOWARD the "Eden" of which ESA and an encouragingly increasing number of individuals, each in their own way, are involved in doing just that. It is a ragged, squishy, fuzzy process, just like ecosystems and economic systems. I look forward to any contributions by you or anyone else to this difficult, pleasurable, struggle toward reconciling the needs and works of humankind with those of the earth and its life. I especially look forward to all criticisms, which I greatly appreciate and learn from. That's reconciliation too. WT At 06:13 AM 1/22/2008, Kelly Stettner wrote: >Wayne, > >I totally agree -- I lay the blame on those who have failed to teach >the younger generation...they have taken away any chance they have >of learning from our mistakes and those of their ancestors. I say >"they" because I don't include myself or my husband; he is home >schooling our 9-year-old and will do the same for our 18-month-old; >he teaches history first, and everything else fits within the >context of what-has-come-before. What better way to gain >perspective and to see without prejudice than to examine the >triumphs and failures of our past as a species? > >I'd be interested to read "Advancing Toward Eden"...reminds me of >that poem about the great beast slouching toward Bethlehem or >whatever it was...! :-) > >Kelly > >Wayne Tyson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >Kel and all: > >Yep. Know what you mean. Point is not self-hatred but a >willingness to "appreciate" self-deprecating humor now and then, >rather than wallow, unaware, in a kind of spoiled-brat >self-righteousness. In my endless pursuit of reconciling the needs >and works of humankind with those of the earth and its life (I'm >calling my write-up "Advancing Toward Eden"), I speak (at too great >a length to go into here) "frugal luxury" to signify the route out >of this mess of excess as an alternative to desperate poverty, the >ultimate consequences of delaying proactivity too long. Note that >"proactivity" does not show up as a noun in the spell-checker. It >is not, however, "the younger generation," but those who have made >the younger generation who, if anyone, must be blamed for the >current state of affairs. > >I invite your (and everybody's) further refinement of my stone-axe >treatment of the subject. > >WT > >At 06:19 AM 1/21/2008, you wrote: >>"Americans know the price of everything, but the value of >>nothing." --An unattributed "modification" of Oscar Wilde's original >>quote, who described cynics in those terms. >> >>Hmmm......I beg to differ, to some extent, Wayne. I'd modify that >>even further to read "American youth know the price of everything >>but the value of nothing." I think that America has made enough >>sacrifices over the past seven decades and has been the butt of the >>world's scorn (and our own) long enough. By and large, our >>children know nothing of sacrifice, nothing of history, nothing of >>want or need. Further, our self-inflicted guilt over this nation's >>prosperity is dangerous; rather than see our mistakes (even the >>grievous ones) as steps along the way and tools to learn from, we >>flog ourselves and each other mercilessly, to the point of cultural >>stagnation. >> >>We have stopped looking for the lessons in people like James >>Stewart and Glenn Miller, and we've become short-sighted and >>allowed ourselves to instead be titillated by the likes of Anna >>Nicole Smith and Britney Spears. We've lost sight of our heroes, >>flaws and all, and have therefore lost anything of value they may >>have to teach us. "Big stars" like Miller and Stewart waived their >>posh, comfy lives to fight in battles overseas or to provide the >>troops with live entertainment far from home. They understood >>sacrifice. So did we all...rationing, bottle drives, rubber >>drives, paper drives, you name it. We don't teach it anymore, we >>don't expect our kids to comprehend it, nor do we attach relevance >>to our own history. >> >>Blah....I wax nostalgic for concepts like "An honest day's pay for >>an honest day's work" and "Ask Dad -- he knows!" Heh. Anyway, I >>would just like to see us take a clear look full of perspective >>into our past, and learn from our mistakes. Move on. Stop the >>self-hatred. Know what I mean? >> >>Kel >> >> >><http://blackriveractionteam.blogspot.com/>Black River Action Team (BRAT) >>45 Coolidge Road >>Springfield, VT 05156 >>[EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >>http://www.blackriveractionteam.org >> >>~Making ripples on the Black River since 2000! ~ >> >> >>Looking for last minute shopping deals? >><http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=51734/*http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping>Find >> >>them fast with Yahoo! Search. > > > > ><http://blackriveractionteam.blogspot.com/>Black River Action Team (BRAT) >45 Coolidge Road >Springfield, VT 05156 >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >http://www.blackriveractionteam.org > >~Making ripples on the Black River since 2000! ~ > > >Never miss a thing. ><http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=51438/*http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs>Make >Yahoo your homepage.
