Dear all
I imagine that many of you are shocked by the US election result. Maybe some of you are happy. I don’t judge whichever way you chose to cast your ballot, if you are an American, or which side you support.
However, what I would like to present here is a perspective from the Ecodharma way of thinking, especially as laid out by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone is their Active Hope book which we read together.
As a reminder, they set out three concepts:
Although there are important concerns around the election for women and minority rights, the most clear thing for me is that the result is a win for Business as Usual. This is not said with any degree of moral superiority but a reflection of where people are right now.
It is often said, and with some justification, that environmental concerns tend to be the privilege of those who have secure housing and a decent income where they do not have to worry too much about increases in food and energy costs. I am, in this regard, guilty as charged (although note that this situation tends to apply in developed countries, in the global south many people understand that Business as Usual is no longer possible for them).
In America, as elsewhere in the world, people are struggling to afford housing, fuel and food. Jobs are not as secure or well-paying as they once were. In this situation, would you choose to trust an insecure future, as in The Great Turning, or in someone telling you that Business as Usual is not only possible, but can be made to work better.
I do think this story is false, but I can totally understand why people want it to be true (and maybe it can be for some more years). Facing up to the reality of having to make large changes to society is not easy either for those at the top of the current one, who stand to lose a lot of power, status and privilege, and for those at the bottom, who are struggling with uncertainty enough as it is.
Thus, the story of the American past, where homes were affordable, blue collar jobs paid enough, and society was based on a traditional model, is attractive to many. The problem with this, however, is that America, as with all of the developed world, was based on things that are no longer true – a relatively stable climate, cheap oil and gas, a lower global population and lower standard of living.
Eventually, the reality of how things are will have to be faced, and the longer we leave it, the harder it will likely be. However, I know that I can retreat into comfortable stories when reality is too hard to face, so I cannot criticise others for choosing to do the same.
I would also say that if the election went the other way, the Democrats are not offering much of an alternative to Business as Usual either. There is probably a limit to what voters are willing to accept right now, but their unwillingness to face up to why people are poor, or the structures that cause that, doesn’t provide a vision of hope to many people.
As dharma practitioners, especially coming from an Ecodharma perspective, it seems important to continue to look to The Great Turning, an play whatever part we can, regardless of the political situation, and I mean this both in our own lives and in changing national and international policy through being a part of Buddhist and environmental communities that work with this.
However things are now, reality is becoming more and more clear, and if there is one thing that Buddhism teaches, is that the more we separate ourselves from reality, the more we suffer. At some point this will have to be addressed. For now, people have chosen the comfort of Business as Usual, and maybe that can be understood more than other perspectives, as much as I wish it were otherwise.
Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday/lah-
I imagine that many of you are shocked by the US election result. Maybe some of you are happy. I don’t judge whichever way you chose to cast your ballot, if you are an American, or which side you support.
However, what I would like to present here is a perspective from the Ecodharma way of thinking, especially as laid out by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone is their Active Hope book which we read together.
As a reminder, they set out three concepts:
- The Great Unravelling, which is our present reality of a huge global population, unsustainable development, environmental crises (most markedly in climate and biodiversity), and increasing costs of fossil fuel production.
- Business as Usual, which is the way we are used to doing things based on abundant energy, capitalist economics and a model of ongoing growth and increasing consumption.
- The Great Turning, in which we face up to The Great Unravelling and being to tell new stories and come up with new ways to live which face our current reality. This is a hard path, although ripe with possibility.
Although there are important concerns around the election for women and minority rights, the most clear thing for me is that the result is a win for Business as Usual. This is not said with any degree of moral superiority but a reflection of where people are right now.
It is often said, and with some justification, that environmental concerns tend to be the privilege of those who have secure housing and a decent income where they do not have to worry too much about increases in food and energy costs. I am, in this regard, guilty as charged (although note that this situation tends to apply in developed countries, in the global south many people understand that Business as Usual is no longer possible for them).
In America, as elsewhere in the world, people are struggling to afford housing, fuel and food. Jobs are not as secure or well-paying as they once were. In this situation, would you choose to trust an insecure future, as in The Great Turning, or in someone telling you that Business as Usual is not only possible, but can be made to work better.
I do think this story is false, but I can totally understand why people want it to be true (and maybe it can be for some more years). Facing up to the reality of having to make large changes to society is not easy either for those at the top of the current one, who stand to lose a lot of power, status and privilege, and for those at the bottom, who are struggling with uncertainty enough as it is.
Thus, the story of the American past, where homes were affordable, blue collar jobs paid enough, and society was based on a traditional model, is attractive to many. The problem with this, however, is that America, as with all of the developed world, was based on things that are no longer true – a relatively stable climate, cheap oil and gas, a lower global population and lower standard of living.
Eventually, the reality of how things are will have to be faced, and the longer we leave it, the harder it will likely be. However, I know that I can retreat into comfortable stories when reality is too hard to face, so I cannot criticise others for choosing to do the same.
I would also say that if the election went the other way, the Democrats are not offering much of an alternative to Business as Usual either. There is probably a limit to what voters are willing to accept right now, but their unwillingness to face up to why people are poor, or the structures that cause that, doesn’t provide a vision of hope to many people.
As dharma practitioners, especially coming from an Ecodharma perspective, it seems important to continue to look to The Great Turning, an play whatever part we can, regardless of the political situation, and I mean this both in our own lives and in changing national and international policy through being a part of Buddhist and environmental communities that work with this.
However things are now, reality is becoming more and more clear, and if there is one thing that Buddhism teaches, is that the more we separate ourselves from reality, the more we suffer. At some point this will have to be addressed. For now, people have chosen the comfort of Business as Usual, and maybe that can be understood more than other perspectives, as much as I wish it were otherwise.
Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday/lah-
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