Finally We Let the Bears Run Free
My sister-in-law lives across the street from Caryn and I, and the other day I let her out the door carrying a huge load of kids-stuff; Caryn noticed and exclaimed “Ryan! Come on! Aren’t you going to help her out?” So I guiltily ran outside and grabbed some of the stuff she had, and commented to her, “nothing like a little bit of forced chivalry eh?”
So how about a little bit of forced environmental etiquette? Well, whether we like it or not, or even realize it, this economic downtown could be a breath of fresh air for the planet.
So finally we let the bears run free, this is great news for nature. Many elders have suggested that the world needs another depression to cure a culture that has lost its way. That is awfully tough medicine, but perhaps a small dose is needed? Experts who agree that a depression is on it’s way, don’t imagine it will last as long as The Great Republican Depression of the ‘30’s, but even a short one could give our culture a well needed reboot that could launch a brand new operating system that is much more efficient, stable, and sustainable than the one we currently maintain. It might be the only way to clear this virus before it turns terminal.
To keep up the medical metaphors, Thom Hartmann recently suggested that a planet with rapid extinction of large mammals is like a human with organ failure. It is really bad news that a recent study determined that 25% of the worlds mammal species are at risk of extinction; and that is a very conservative number; in reality, it might be much higher due to limited data on marine mammals.
“The financial crisis is nothing compared with the environmental crisis,” the deputy head of IUCN’s species program, Jean-Christophe Vie, told BBC News.
I don’t think it’s one or the other, I think it’s both-and. It seems that we might need one crisis to help out the other. I am generally known as an eternal optimist, but have found myself quite worried and anxious about the recent world news. It’s easy to get sucked in to a state of fear, and even easier to spread it as I know I have been doing unconsciously lately. I recently caught myself, honestly observed my actions and fears, and am now quickly reforming my thinking around this situation to adopt and share a more optimistic view. So it’s not one crisis over another, but one crisis to help another! It takes two to tango.
Endless financial growth is like an addiction. I was once addicted to the idea of making bottomless passive income and read all the Robert Kiyosaki financial books. Fortunately it was a short phase and I moved on before it consumed me (and hence the planet). The world has a great many people addicted to cash right now, and many are being forced to quit cold turkey. They might kick and scream a little on their road to recovery, but they too will see the light of day once the withdrawals stop. Many others don’t have bottomless cash but still manage to spend every cent they earn (and more) on consumables - they too may be forced to kick the habit. The withdrawals, whether you are a multi-millionaire, or in the middle class average, will come in the form of relinquishing your attachment to material goods. You can never get enough of what you don’t really need. You can never get enough, has been the theme since Reaganomics was born almost 30 years ago; and the crux of that lesson, what you don’t really need, is being taught right now.
Our culture is based around competition, we teach our children this from a very young age. Children are naturally very cooperative, but adults instill a competitive nature with scores and gold stars at an increasingly young age.
Competitive nature combined with greed has created this economic crisis, and the current market crash could be just what the planet needs, a last minute out before we reach an environmental tipping point. Despite the crime that media tends to focus on during hard times, I believe instead it will open up an overwhelming flood of human compassion and bring the world together in cooperation rather than competition. It will lead to community gardens, sustainable technological research and implementation, bicycles on the streets, revival of small businesses, and on and on. Maybe the tipping point will be one away from greed and toward a green future; that is my vision, and it’s an optimistic one.
Tags: bear market, chivalry, competition, economic crisis, economy, greed, IUCN, mammal loss, reaganomics, republican depression, robert kiyosaki, species extinction, thom hartmann
October 13th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Consumptive behavior is much older than Reaganomics. The current financial crisis, like the Great Depression, has more to do with greed and stockpiling than with consumptive behavior per se. I agree with you that consumptive behavior is problematic, and widespread. Because of technological innovation and planned obsolescence, anything one consumes today will be old news tomorrow (or sooner). But this is what allows us to have great bikes to ride and all the accompanying gear. In 1999, when I bought my first full-suspension bike, it has a whopping 80mm front travel and 38mm rear travel. In July I bought a new bike with a CF frame and 140mm front and rear travel. Did I NEED a new bike–no, the old one was still doing just fine. But I’m certainly having a lot more fun (and feel safer) on the new longer travel bike. Without unfettered consumption, the likelihood that we’d have such bikes as we see on the market today is pretty slim.
That said, the act of consuming for consumption’s sake, is a different beast. And on top of that, consumption based social acceptance is an even bigger problem. While social acceptance has almost always been based on external appearances (e.g., you usually only have friends within your economic class), mass media has allowed people to experience what is available on the higher economic strata. Combine the desire to move into a higher economic class (the “American Dream”), the credit to make it possible and purposive trend setting (getting stars or celebrities to wear/use/do something so that others will copy) and we have a very problematic situation. Today we can see 12 year old girls dressing like 21 year old bar-hopping women because they see someone on MTV wearing it. We also have people buying Norco bikes because Ryan Leech rides them. But, when the average person can buy a “Coach” handbag, what “value” does it retain for the economic elite? So, when the exclusivity of an item to an economic class is dissipated, the elites move on to something more exclusive, and the cycle flows again.
I think that the problem really is the concept that we are what we consume. In other words, people identify themselves and others with the brands that they purchase. And membership in social groups, particularly for the young seeking acceptance, is determined by whether we fit in. And to fit in, one must, as a general rule, look like, dress like, eat like, buy like, and think like those with whom one want to associate.
October 13th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Great response, thanks Zen Monkey.
I have recently been collecting my thoughts on what it really means to be a sponsored pro. One of the things I am currently struggling with is the fact that I promote material status. These are tough questions to face for those in a position of influence, but so important. The responsibility is huge; recognizing that responsibility is one thing, and acting it out is another. Of course that question isn’t just reserved for those in the spotlight, we are all models to someone, whether we know it or not.
Thanks for articulating some of the consumption/class issues so eloquently.
Glad you’re enjoying the new bike!
RL