This is Controversial

After a week of not blogging anything (I've been really busy, looking for a place to live, if you must know), I came across this article. For those of you too lazy to click on the link and read it, I'll summarize it very quickly: people all over the world are protesting, mostly because they have a very strong sense of entitlement.  Greece and Montreal (over tuition increases) were specifically mentioned.

Though I have always felt that I have fairly left-leaning political views, and I believe that a government's job is to take care of its people first and foremost.  Which means providing all sorts of things that the free market can't provide, such as police, health care, infrastructure (roads, rail, ports), and education. I know government isn't very efficient at a lot of the things it does, but the anger againts governments these days borders on the ridiculous. Though I expect to have all the conveniences of living in modern times (see my above list of what a government should provide, though it's not comprehensive), I'm not so deluded into thinking that I should get it for nothing or that it doesn't cost anything.  Yes, big business has its hands in government and yes that does influence some decisions it makes.  But unions influence them just as much, and it feels like once someone has something good, they'll do anything to protect that even at the detriment of others.

I'm not saying we should all just sit down and accept every government decision that comes about, especially when it means cutting services and rising taxes.  But governments must be run in a way that doesn't lose money. Someone loses out when that happens.  Who are we to say we should get all the good things and someone else should pay the price.

In my field, I've had to witness hundreds and thousands of people who have it way better than me (and many others) complain about small concession they are being asked to make.  They just don't seem to get that there are hundreds and thousands of willing people who would kill (well, maybe not kill) to have the opportunity to work at their jobs. It makes me want to shake each and every one of them and shout: "DO YOU NOT REALIZE HOW GOOD YOU HAVE IT!?!?!" Which would (in my fantasy) be followed by a lot of swearing and more shaking - though, this being reality, I'd never do that.

In the past, unions and protest movements (ok, even some today) have been helpful in advancing many worthy causes, but in many places those times have passed. At some point it switches from ensuring fairness in society to taking more than what you've earned.

So yes, I've also noticed this sense of entitlement, or "entitlement addiction" as the article calls it.  It is very frustrating for me to see since I'd love to have it as good as some of these people.

Wake Up Please...

About 10 months ago, a roommate of mine sent me an article and I finally got around to reading it. The article, title "A Terrifying Truth" and written by Dave Lindorff, discusses the current situation that we are dealing with on this planet. Though the content is not anything that is new to me, it may be new to anyone out there reading my blog and I thought it was worth sharing as Lindorff writes much clearer than I do.

Read the Article Here

I should note that while he may come across as a crackpot in some of the things he says, we are quickly approaching a point where we will have no choice and some of these things that we deem so important to our lives (such as that thing called the economy which is apparently more important that anything else) will collapse on their own and we'll be faced with even larger problems.

As Lindorff writes,

[i]nstead of thinking of ourselves as consumers and competitive free agents, we need to start thinking of ourselves as passengers on a boat that is sinking. If we all run for the lifeboats and life preservers and fight to see who can be saved, the life vests will be torn and ruined and the lifeboats will fall into the sea and sink. In the end, we’ll all go down. If, on the other hand, we change tack, recognize that we’re all in this together, and make orderly plans to save ourselves collectively, we may all be able to get away.

Lately it has been very troublesome for me to listen to people spout off how An Inconvenient Truth has opened their eyes and then watch them do all sorts of things that contribute to the problems Mr. Gore was describing. Often they will justify it somehow. The economy has always been a reason not to change our way of life. But the logic behind inaction and half measures may turn out to be human kinds biggest blunder. For starters, the economy is worthless without the life systems that support it. A 1997 study (which has been mentioned over and over recently) found that the earth's ecosystem did approximately $33 trillion worth of work (including but not limited to purifying water, providing energy to grow plants, and pollination). At that time, the global GNP was $18 trillion - just more than half of what the ecosystem provided. Without this ecosystem, we would have a much harder time sustaining our economy.

A second argument against the economy excuse is very simple and straightforward. If we destroy our ecosystem we are potentially destroying our ability to live in it. What use is money to a species which does not exist? Many people do not believe this is possible. To them, the problems are with the polar bears and the frogs. How can that possibly affect us? And even if it does we have technology. Right? Though I am no expert, I do not believe that a mass migration to Mars or beyond will be possible in a way that maintains any semblance of our way of life.

Some may also point to the market to solve our problems. In theory, the market could solve a lot of these problems (with proper government control). But we don't have a free market. What we have are large monopolies that spend most of their profits convincing us that we need things we don't need so that their profits remain high. My question is: why is money so important that we have to work ourselves so hard? Sure, money pays for food, clothing and shelter, but do we really need those other things? Are we better off spending our time on more fulfilling things (like spending time with family and friends)?

The article hits one point on the nose as well: we are only taking half measures to try to solve these problems. As if a switch to cloth bags will somehow take carbon dioxide from the air. We do these little things to assuage ourselves of the guilt we have when we fill up our gas tanks.

Lindorff is right, we need to rethink our society. A band-aid solution won't save you when air pollution is lethal (which some would argue it already is in many parts of the world).

The bottom line is that we've all contributed to the problems humanity is now facing. But we are all part of the solution. We have let consumerism get the better of us for some time now. We have become disconnected with the world and the people around us. With creative and inspired leadership (and there is some hope for this) we may find a way. We need to stop thinking about what is best for "me" and start thinking about what is best for "us."

The old adage goes: "There's no I in team," and right about now, our species needs to take that advice to heart, or like Lindorff says, we could rip apart the life jackets.