Well, I am not proving myself much of a blogger--since it has been over 2 months since I posted any musings here. Today a fellow artist sent me an intriguing mail art project---a voter's punch card to do art on and send to the place sponsoring the mail art exhibit. I looked at this voting punch card--and all I could think was--should I create a dollar sign in green beads on it OR a globe engulfed by flames?
Ah, the two big global problems---global warming and our cultural pre-occupation with money, possessions and shopping---at the expense of so many other people--- and to the detriment our Mother, the Earth. I have been a bit pre-occupied with these two subjects since seeing Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth." Most of the time we go around our lives with partial blinders on--which serve to block out any "inconvenient truths" we just do not want to acknowledge--and this film removes those blinders for a short while.
In the 80's I experienced the same sort of blinders removal when I watched the film "The Day After"---a film which devastatingly described the day after a nuclear war. That film prompted me to co-ordinate the creation of a "peace quilt" which I then presented from ordinary folks in the USA to ordinary folks in the USSR ---a "people to people peacemaking" action, which gave me hope, and taught me that you can use art to make a difference and to educate people.
So far, my reaction to seeing the reality of global warming so clearly explained in this film, has been a mixture of anger, fear, and sadness---I have not yet been able to translate the feeling into action or artwork (other than vowing to not buy another car, but to join our local City Car Share). I feel overwhelmed, and unable to get my blinders to work now---everyday I just want to make everyone else see how important this is--we are killing the earth! yes! the sky will soon be falling! this is not a false alarm---we need to all work together to change our consumer patterns, or we will all perish. I am so confused--why doesn't everyone see this? It is like everyone is hypnotized by all their stuff and nice comfortable life styles and so have been turned into yes-people zombies by our media (please forgive me if you are as concerned about this as I am--you are not one of those zombies)---so are unable (or unwilling) to take off their blinders, let alone--actually act for change.
Right now, it would be an easy way out for me to succumb to despair or cynicism---but HOPE--the World Book Dictionary defines hope as: "to desire very much, to trust, to wish and expect, a feeling that what one desires will happen''--hope keeps me going right now---hope against hope--("to keep on hoping even though there is no good reason to have hope") hope that before it is too late more and more people will become concerned with global warming and the tipping point will be reached and everyone will take a stand--"crying enough is enough" and force the necessary changes to happen. So, I make my small daily changes and choices in favor of Mother Earth (how much I am really willing to be inconvenienced?) and just hang on to my hope. Daily I pray to Mother Earth, and squash my fears.
If you are also concerned about global warming & our environment, won't you please respond here?
Are you afraid for our Earth? How much are you willing to be inconvenienced?
Just let me know what you are doing to nudge our government and/or fellow citizens, or corporations toward sustainable ecological actions, and help give me hope for our future, and our children's future, and their children's future. Thanks.
Hi, Aurora,
ReplyDeleteLove seeing your work here! Mother's button box really brings back memories for me, though it was
my Mom's mother who had the button box which
she eventually gave to me, along with an old Singer
treadle sewing machine (which I wish to goodness
I still had - got left back in Philadelphia when we
moved to California - I was only 12 and didn't have
any say in the matter!).
I've been worried about global warming, the population explosion, nuclear waste disposal
practices, and the mines and toxic effects on
the earth, its animals and peoples, for so long
now that I feel almost inured to it. Not enough
to stop writing letters to politicians and posting
about it when it comes up (or pointedly doesn't
come up) in online venues where I participate
heavily.
I take the long view even though I
won't be here to see it personally. I have a lot
of hope, always have, even in the depths of
despair (like watching the way we seem to be
entering another Dark Ages socially and politically
and a large majority of people just sort of ignore
it or let themselves be part of it). There is always
change and adaptation going on - some of it
more radical than we're ready for. Things may
get a lot worse before they get better but, one
way or another, things will change beyond our
ability to recognize them and that will be the
real new world order - what our actions and
nature's reactions co-create over time.
If each of us does what we can to get the word
out, to support positive changes and undermine
the negative ones, especially if we live our own
lives in ways we want to see others live, we will
have an impact. Whether or not it will be 'enough',
we can't know. Only those alive in the distant
future will know for sure. For some reason, that
doesn't depress me. :)