I feel very accomplished this weekend. I finished knitting and felting two, count 'em TWO booga bags for Teacher-Appreciation week (Teachers - I love you. I only do these kinds of things for you because I love you and you hold the most honored job I can imagine. You all rock, and I include my wonderful sister in that statement too. Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!!) Anyway, despite staying up past midnight to do that (see, I told you I love teachers), I also managed to orchestrate our Saturday circus, including (briefly) baking, planning meeting, baseball game, piano recital and girl's night out. After today's youth UU service, which went off great, I thought, we took the YRUUs out for ice cream, and then I went home, sat down and promptly got sick. Well kind of. I sure felt sick for a while. Can you say exhausted?
So pat me on the back - I got through the weekend.
One thing about staying so busy that works for me is that I lose my obsession with the news and politics. I realize that all these lousy things continue to happen in the global playing field whether I'm paying attention to them or not. While I realize that, I hate the sentiment, because I hate apathy almost as much as I love honesty. Yet still. In order to stay sane, you have to draw the line somewhere, don't you? What is there to be done in any case?
How much impact can one person really have on the world - for problems that are of global reach? Unless you're a famous sports hero or movie star or in politics, one person's reach is sure limited. It's a feel-good thing for us to say that we're "doing our part" or "touching one person is touching the world", but in all honesty, I think the reality is that we have to come to terms with the fact that there are limits to what we can do. For instance, I think about global warming and climate change and it scares the crap out of me. I periodically go through spells of dreaming of buying solar panels and converting my cars to run on vegetable oil or of moving to a place that's withing biking distance of work and stores. But ... guess what? Haven't done it. We drive two vehicles 40 miles each way each day to work, and we keep our air conditioner at about 72. You tell me - what difference would it make in the big scheme of things if I did go totally green? Um... I think none. These individual contributions to global problems just aren't going to add up. There are global problems like this one that can only be addressed by large social shifts, driven by either politics or industry. We're not going to cut down on oil consumption as a nation by individually going green. We're only going to do it when the political and economic pressure is there to encourage green technological advances.
How about global poverty? How much is it really going to help if I buy a llama from Heifer International? It may end up helping a few people somewhere, but global poverty? Nope. Our individual contributions are bandaids, not solutions. Meaningful solutions must come from national levels, not the individual.
I'm not saying bandaids are bad - they're certainly needed. I'll continue to supply bandaids when I can, and hope for some hero to come along that has the influence to move nations. I think there are things I can do that will be felt more locally. I'm active on our PTA board and am having a little influence on raising and spending money for my local elementary school. I'm working with the youth in our church. I can try to apply bandaids where I see they're needed, and I think I'm at a place where I can even help with SOLUTIONS on a local level.
But these big issues that dominate the news like the war? Darfur? Famine and drought? If I take on those responsibilities, I will drown. There's got to be a line between apathy and the realization that we have limits to what we can do. It's frustrating. Let me know if you figure it out.
2 comments:
Oh, man, I try to avoid those types of insane weekends as much as possible. Great job doing all that!
I had a thought while reading about your ideas of going green (I have fantasies about moving to where everything is walking/biking distance, too): I think you are right that going completely green will be a worthless endeavor. It would have very little influence on others because, even if you could make yourself do it, most others would remain unwilling.
But what about adopting some of the easier habits? I recently heard someone say that they turn off their vehicle air conditioner in the mornings and roll down their windows. I have always run my air in the mornings. I never open my windows. Until now.
My small change won't make any difference, but because it is easy and do-able, others are more likely to adopt the habit. As more and more people adopt these easier habits, maybe we as a nation will become more committed? And then at that point we may FINALLY be able to direct the national leaders to do something.
Maybe. I am an idealist, I know. But then, it sounds like you are, too!
Hi Noell!! You are absolutely right of course. I was feeling a bit, um, overwhelmed when I wrote my post. If I were the supreme leader of the world with real power, then I tell you, this place (earth) would ROCK.
But I'm not - I'm just another citizen. But yes, you're right - I do have some influence, limited though it may be. And those influences have influences. So while I won't change the world, I *can* have an impact.
BTW, I turned the air off last night and opened the windows. From one idealist to another... ;-)
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