I was feeling this as I was almost arrested today for standing up to the citi bank and Chace Manhattan banks as they both are primary supporters of the fossil fuel industry. They know what consequences are and have done for decades but are putting their investments ahead of the planets future, which is also ours. The captivity in Babylon ended the results of not doing work to rebalance earth may have no solution. As God gave us "dominion" with that we are also responsible. This is not being Responsible for The Creation we have been gifted with.
Donald, thank you for putting yourself at risk of arrest to stand up for justice and the future of humanity and the planet. I was just about to post a comment about how this chapter lays bare a fundamental ? that those of us who are horrified by the state of the world in so many aspects should be grappling with, I.e., what is our responsibility to take action? Is it enough to vote, to sign petitions, to work to spread the message of our causes and try to get more people involved? Is it enough to modify our own behavior and try to reduce our personal part in destroying the environment? Is it enough participate and march in peaceful protests? I think that is the line that most people draw, even most passionate and engaged people...but we perhaps forget that the civil rights and anti-war movements were nonviolent but not peaceful. People, particularly people of color, put their freedom and their bodies on the line to fight for their causes. They messed up the gears of the system, and provoked it into violent action and historians tell us this was no small part of enlisting more people to their cause and to their achievement of at least some of their goals. This makes me wonder what might be achieved if instead of hundreds of thousands of people marching on DC, those same people sat down on Pennsylvania Avenue and refused to move until dragged away?
So is protest enough or do we need mass civil disobedience? For me its an easy question to resolve intellectually--a resounding yes--but much harder personally. I admit that I have so far stopped short of engaging in action that could get me arrested or hurt and my family doesn't want me to. But by not doing that I have to admit that I am living in a way that is not in accord with my beliefs and values. I have to ask myself, "If not now, when?"
I was feeling this as I was almost arrested today for standing up to the citi bank and Chace Manhattan banks as they both are primary supporters of the fossil fuel industry. They know what consequences are and have done for decades but are putting their investments ahead of the planets future, which is also ours. The captivity in Babylon ended the results of not doing work to rebalance earth may have no solution. As God gave us "dominion" with that we are also responsible. This is not being Responsible for The Creation we have been gifted with.
Donald, thank you for putting yourself at risk of arrest to stand up for justice and the future of humanity and the planet. I was just about to post a comment about how this chapter lays bare a fundamental ? that those of us who are horrified by the state of the world in so many aspects should be grappling with, I.e., what is our responsibility to take action? Is it enough to vote, to sign petitions, to work to spread the message of our causes and try to get more people involved? Is it enough to modify our own behavior and try to reduce our personal part in destroying the environment? Is it enough participate and march in peaceful protests? I think that is the line that most people draw, even most passionate and engaged people...but we perhaps forget that the civil rights and anti-war movements were nonviolent but not peaceful. People, particularly people of color, put their freedom and their bodies on the line to fight for their causes. They messed up the gears of the system, and provoked it into violent action and historians tell us this was no small part of enlisting more people to their cause and to their achievement of at least some of their goals. This makes me wonder what might be achieved if instead of hundreds of thousands of people marching on DC, those same people sat down on Pennsylvania Avenue and refused to move until dragged away?
So is protest enough or do we need mass civil disobedience? For me its an easy question to resolve intellectually--a resounding yes--but much harder personally. I admit that I have so far stopped short of engaging in action that could get me arrested or hurt and my family doesn't want me to. But by not doing that I have to admit that I am living in a way that is not in accord with my beliefs and values. I have to ask myself, "If not now, when?"