An "I told you so", or a changer of the way things are?
Just because it's the way it is doesn't mean it's the way it could be.
Or should be.
If it happens will you be proud that you knew it would, or disappointed that you didn't do your part to stop it?
"The sun shines not on us but in us." - John Muir
If it shined on your face the reflection would have a question,
but since it illuminates You the world is that much more full of truth.
"When it is dark enough, you can see the stars." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Who are you?
I don't think a single person fits into any one of your descriptions alone. Also, your missing a category. Along with “changers” and “I told you so's”, your forgetting the biggest group, the “I don't really care's.” When it comes to certain topics of discussion, a person can be divided up into their respected group, but overall as a person, they are a mixture of all the categories. Most topics, people don't find important, giving them not much though, thus putting them into the IDC group. They do however have that one topic or cause that means a lot to them. They protest at rallies, write articles in the paper, donate money, ect, and in that respect their a changer. Regarding your post where you ask people to ask themselves questions and to reexamine how they live, that's a form of you being a changer in an environmental prospective. People should be asking themselves those questions, but you know as well as I do that most people don't (otherwise you wouldn't have to be posting them). That doesn't mean that those people are ignorant or they hate the earth or whatever. It just means that to them, the environment is not their top concern. Same way that they might be fighting for a cause that you don't really think about often or give much though too. That doesn't mean that your a bad person, it just means that to you, the topic is not as important. To them world hunger, taking care of our veterans, degrading of women, or racism (to name a few) is most important, and their shocked that you don't agree. Your asking them if they have to use so much paper towel. They'll be asking you if you really need that extra sweatshirt in your closet that you don't use anymore, because that would help a veteran stay warm during the winter. You ask if they need to take such a long shower. They'll be asking you if you could afford to donate some money to kids in other counties that don't have running water at all. You get my point? We all have different interest and different views on what is most important to us. There are always going to be people that would give their life for a cause that others just shrug off and couldn't care less about. That doesn't make people bad, it's just human nature. Everyone wants to be a “changer” for something, but overall we are a society of “I don't care's”.
ReplyDeleteThe Truth
i'm asking you if you really need that extra sweatshirt in your closet, if you have a sweatshirt already. take that money you would have spent on that sweathshirt and donate it to a good causes. by the way, pretty cool about those billionaries, huh? that's an honest thing to do right there. that's thinking outside the realm of business by people who have dominated the realm, so to speak. that was real cool, i was happy. anyway, yeah, i see what you're saying. the way i see it, there's nothing else if the planet becomes irrevocably ruined. resources are finite. different interests are what makes the world great. but as for the EARTH, there should be a steady effort of long term conservation and also preservation as much as possible.
ReplyDelete[i'm asking you if you really need that extra sweatshirt in your closet, if you have a sweatshirt already. take that money you would have spent on that sweathshirt and donate it to a good causes.]
ReplyDeleteYou really aren't though. Your reexamine blog had nothing to do with any of the topics I had mention before, just environmental. That was my whole point. People focus on the issues that mean the most to them. I'm not saying you don't care about homeless people or sick kids, most people want to help these causes. I'm just stating the fact that most people don't take any action at all. The ones that do however, gear most (if not all) of their attention to that one issue. I know you would give 100 dollars to a environmental cause before you donate money to homeless people. I know you would give up your free time to help clean up a park before you gave up that time to help out at a soup kitchen. I'm not attacking you personally, that's how it is for everybody. I'm just trying to explain what I mean using examples. You are a “changer” when it comes to the environment, no question. But do you really consider yourself a “changer” for equal rights as well? Or stopping world hunger? (just to name a few)
The original question you proposed was “what type of person are you?” As I've shown, it's not that simple. Everyone wants to feel as though they have accomplished something. Everyone wants to believe they have done good that has changed the world for the better.. We are all striving for that goal. How we get their individual however is a different story. All in all, I'm just trying to show that every person has a bit of “changer” in them, along with “I don't care.” As for the original question you asked, the answer is D; all of the above.
[by the way, pretty cool about those billionaries, huh? that's an honest thing to do right there. that's thinking outside the realm of business by people who have dominated the realm, so to speak. that was real cool, i was happy.]
I have read a few different articles about it. Quick glance, it's great. Billionaires giving money to causes and people that really need it. Not to sound cynical though, but you really have to ask yourself why? What are their real motives? Is this truly a selfless act? These people did not get rich overnight. Most have had money for years and even decades. Some, the money has been passed down between generations over the last century. But now, about 40 of them want to give away half their wealth? Why today and not last year, or last decade? This is a capitalistic society if there ever was one. One of Adam Smith's most famous quotes from the Wealth of Nations was: “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we can expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.” I know he was talking from a economical point of view, but it also holds true form a social. Why do people donate money or time to any cause? Is it really purely just to “do good” or “help out”, without having any type of benefit received in return? Some would argue that there's no such thing as benevolence. Rather, every act is rooted from some self benefiting motive.
[there's nothing else if the planet becomes irrevocably ruined. resources are finite. different interests are what makes the world great. but as for the EARTH, there should be a steady effort of long term conservation and also preservation as much as possible.]
ReplyDeleteI know what are your trying to saying. If we don't take care of the earth, then we are causing our own self destruction, thus none of the other issues will matter. That is absolutely correct, well just the first part. What we are doing to the earth will have a long lasting impact for decades to come, who knows if we can even partially restore it back to how it was. For many people (both you and me) this is a huge threat, possibly the greatest one we face (although I could write a book on the others that are just as important I believe.) This is a long term threat. Many believe we won't truly see the consequences during our life time, rather generations after us will. Some people however, face short term threats that are right in their face everyday that are life and death They're not thinking about the planet in 50 years, rather, how are they going to eat the next day or where they're going to sleep the next night. You say “there's nothing else if the planet becomes irrevocably ruined”, but if they don't get the help they need, they suffer from a low quality of life or even death. To them its a lose lose. The point of conserving the environment is to also conserve life. How can you weight a life now to future generations and determine which is more worthy of saving? It's kinda like the question Eric asked “would you rather kill a baby or all the trees.”
The Truth