Lately, I’ve started actually reading the newspaper again. Every day it is a reminder that I am connected. I picked it up a few days ago, and the recent decision on Net Neutrality hit me. The current administration and our descent into privatization, benefits for corporations, and a very divisive cultural standard upheld by our president, make me question which direction change is moving in.
This sort of change was mentioned in Active Hope by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone: disruptive or very fast change. It’s easy to get caught up in this cascade of immediate wrongs, but remembering that us alive now are not likely to understand or feel the effects of everything we do calms me. I would rather be alive right now than any time in our past because we have made good decisions to lead up to this moment, and we are continuing to do so.
Photo from: https://www.terrapass.com/product/productindividuals-families.
In many ways, it takes a public realization of atrocity for positive steps to be taken. We see this in the recently elected democratic senator in Alabama- for the first time since before I was born. It came about because we are more aware of sexual assaults and misconduct. Perpetrators are being held accountable. It takes time, but humanity is beginning to become more aware and working toward mediating our negative impacts, both socially and environmentally. As Macy and Johnstone point out, there are tens of millions of cultural creatives- holistic, ecologically committed subcultures- I just hadn’t heard of them before.
This sexual accountability is more proof that we’re part of a time where change isn’t just continuous; it has an extreme disruptive potential that can move towards good. Trump’s administration is a backlash to a slower stream of progressive change, and while it is creating negative impacts now, it is also a catalyst for another mobilization. I have seen a significant rise in environmental news, classes on sustainability, and political knowledge and activism just since I began university.
Photo from: http://grist.org/climate-energy/is-legacy-the-key-to-climate-action-and-no-this-is-not-about-estate-planning/.
Trump’s administration brings a sense of urgency to protecting our laws and reframing our culture that could make a lot of difference.
I feel the motivation myself, and have applied and been accepted to a research group studying the effects of the hurricane that recently hit Puerto Rico. Any opportunity to contribute is meaningful, and there will be many. I hope humanity responds to them with caring and patience.