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I was joking about the cigarette. Internet "relating" can be a very difficult thing and it's very easy to misunderstand a person and subtleties and nuances are easily missed.
Yes, change is absolutely inevitable. The question is whether the change will be positive or negative.
I am indeed upset by what has and what is happening in the county and in the country and in the world.
Because i don't have a "bubble" i'm more exposed and more vulnerable to the negative impacts of what i consider to be a culture in decline. The "advancement" in technology is a huge distraction at this point.
I did not intend to disrespect you and i feel that you didn't intend to disrespect me.
We both have in common a love for the Monterey Bay and for the land and the ocean (and i certainly, for "all creatures great and small").
So shall we leave it at that and who knows, maybe our paths will cross and we won't even know it.
I was joking about the cigarette. Internet "relating" can be a very difficult thing and it's very easy to misunderstand a person and subtleties and nuances are easily missed.
Yes, change is absolutely inevitable. The question is whether the change will be positive or negative.
I am indeed upset by what has and what is happening in the county and in the country and in the world.
Because i don't have a "bubble" i'm more exposed and more vulnerable to the negative impacts of what i consider to be a culture in decline. The "advancement" in technology is a huge distraction at this point.
I did not intend to disrespect you and i feel that you didn't intend to disrespect me.
We both have in common a love for the Monterey Bay and for the land and the ocean (and i certainly, for "all creatures great and small").
So shall we leave it at that and who knows, maybe our paths will cross and we won't even know it.
Right you are about written communication, but of course communication is a tricky thing no matter the method. My sympathies to you or anyone "exposed" to the harsher elements of life, but trust me, you are not alone! You gave my eye brows a rise when you described advancing technology a "distraction." Like a runaway semi-truck headed straight for you maybe!
No disrespect taken, really, glad to have made your acquaintance! Hang in, keep peddling, and don't let the Silicon Valley types, tourists and/or the future get to you too much...
Tourists don't bother me.
Obnoxious yuppies (that's what they used to be called) do bother me.
Thanks for your kindness.
Once in awhile sincere feelings actually do come through this form of communication.
Tourists don't bother me.
Obnoxious yuppies (that's what they used to be called) do bother me.
Thanks for your kindness.
Once in awhile sincere feelings actually do come through this form of communication.
It is common for every generation to feel the next is worse off for all variety of reasons, I think because when we are young, we embrace everything our world has to offer without bias as to what there was before or concern about what is yet to come. Then, as we get older (and older), we lose the comfort of what we became accustomed to, "the good old days," but again the younger generation doesn't carry that baggage.
Advancing to what? No one knows. For better or worse, again a matter of perspective. There were people who weren't too happy about the automobile taking the place of the horse. Today we have this conversation over the Internet that was not possible when I was growing up.
Oh no .... i thought i was done.
My god. When the automobile was invented the planet and was not in peril as it is today.
This isn't (& i'm not) about nostalgia / missing the "good ole days".
Oh no .... i thought i was done.
My god. When the automobile was invented the planet and was not in peril as it is today.
This isn't (& i'm not) about nostalgia / missing the "good ole days".
The Earth is not "in peril." Life on the planet maybe, but that's also nothing new to our generation of living things. Remember the dinosaurs?
We humans may or may not be able to turn back the tide against our eventual doom and attack on the environment, but I am resigned to leave that issue to the powers that be, just like pretty much all matters of public policy. Beyond that, we do our best as individuals to leave as little an environmental "footprint" as we can, and what more can we do? Worry serves no purpose, and I choose to make the most of what I can rather than lament what I cannot. To each his/her own of course. We're all different that way...
Don't miss the "good ole days," don't fret about the future. Live in the now.
You need to put on your listening cap!
I said that for me, it is not about missing the "good ole days"!
And "leave that issue to the powers that be" ? ! Seriously? (Omg, Holy Cow and sacra bleu and just as an aside, are you aware of the fact that you are living in an area that was one of the epicenters of the counter cultural revolution? Just curious. You think that was an irrelevant blip in history?)
We are "the powers that be" but have "abdicated our democratic throne" and have been collectively brainwashed and bamboozled and distracted and disempowered because of those very "powers that be" that you're trusting in (resigned as you said).
You say that you love the nature and ocean that surround you and yet you'll be condescending to someone who is speaking on its behalf?
You're living on a living body that will outlast human beings no doubt. So the fact that the earth will continue on long after humans can no longer be sustained on this planet (because of arrogance and stupidity) somehow justifies the devastation (dare i say "rape") of this earth?
And the end of the age of dinosaurs was not a result of human action. Different story.
"What more can we do"? Do whatever you can in any way you can or don't do anything. It's not up to me or anyone else to dictate what other people do. Geez, for all i care, stick your head in the sand and chant the oft repeated "mantra" of Santa Cruz. "it's another day in paradise, it's another day in paradise, it's another day in paradise ........"
Yeah, except there's mercury in that magical and mystical fog, and the world beneath the beautiful blue surface of the Pacific is certainly in trouble. But you can't see it so ... whatever. La di da. I've got mine.
And living "in the now" does not = being irresponsible and dismissive and blind. Just the opposite actually. It means being awake to the totality of the present. It's an inclusive state of mind and being.
You need to put on your listening cap!
I said that for me, it is not about missing the "good ole days"!
And "leave that issue to the powers that be" ? ! Seriously? (Omg, Holy Cow and sacra bleu and just as an aside, are you aware of the fact that you are living in an area that was one of the epicenters of the counter cultural revolution? Just curious. You think that was an irrelevant blip in history?)
We are "the powers that be" but have "abdicated our democratic throne" and have been collectively brainwashed and bamboozled and distracted and disempowered because of those very "powers that be" that you're trusting in (resigned as you said).
You say that you love the nature and ocean that surround you and yet you'll be condescending to someone who is speaking on its behalf?
You're living on a living body that will outlast human beings no doubt. So the fact that the earth will continue on long after humans can no longer be sustained on this planet (because of arrogance and stupidity) somehow justifies the devastation (dare i say "rape") of this earth?
And the end of the age of dinosaurs was not a result of human action. Different story.
"What more can we do"? Do whatever you can in any way you can or don't do anything. It's not up to me or anyone else to dictate what other people do. Geez, for all i care, stick your head in the sand and chant the oft repeated "mantra" of Santa Cruz. "it's another day in paradise, it's another day in paradise, it's another day in paradise ........"
Yeah, except there's mercury in that magical and mystical fog, and the world beneath the beautiful blue surface of the Pacific is certainly in trouble. But you can't see it so ... whatever. La di da. I've got mine.
And living "in the now" does not = being irresponsible and dismissive and blind. Just the opposite actually. It means being awake to the totality of the present. It's an inclusive state of mind and being.
I'm not sure I could muster a tirade along all these lines quite as well, but I am listening plenty and can't disagree with much you explain. The only thing missing is what you suggest you, me or we do contrary to what I wrote before. Again, I think you presume and judge too much. I'm no stranger to counter-culture having spent a fair amount of time breathing it in at Berkeley, but I am also not one to fantasize what power I have that I don't. Was a time I considered law and/or politics as a career, but I chose otherwise, and as such, I am simply doing the best I can to be a responsible citizen.
If you want to be critical, I respectfully ask you tell me what I should be doing that I am not or what I am not doing that I should. All the rest is just you blowing off your steam, and that's fine, but let's not confuse any of that with anything truly productive, right?
PS: You have now clarified you were/are talking about HUMAN-caused peril to LIFE on the planet. Why didn't you say so from the beginning? That's different, but my point remains the same. We can't know what the future will bring, and we can only worry about that so much before we begin to diminish the value of what precious time we have to enjoy what we can. That's all...
Contrary to what my posts may suggest, i'm not an angry, politically oriented, raging, judgmental, holier-than-thou b**** and i'm not on a tirade. I just get passionate.
Like i said, i don't know what someone else needs to do. Doing our best as individuals is a good thing.
I was reacting to the notion that we should just leave it up to the "powers that be".
We can see what good that's done.
But there are many ways to serve the planet. I mean, despite the changes in S.C. county that i complain about, it's still a very environmentally active / aware community with a lot of different organizations and approaches to dealing with the environmental crisis's. But being involved in that way isn't for everyone. I dunno.
But i do know that leaving it to those "powers that be" won't do much good unless there's some kind of radical shift in Washington, etc. which doesn't seem likely.
Contrary to what my posts may suggest, i'm not an angry, politically oriented, raging, judgmental, holier-than-thou b**** and i'm not on a tirade. I just get passionate.
Like i said, i don't know what someone else needs to do. Doing our best as individuals is a good thing.
I was reacting to the notion that we should just leave it up to the "powers that be".
We can see what good that's done.
But there are many ways to serve the planet. I mean, despite the changes in S.C. county that i complain about, it's still a very environmentally active / aware community with a lot of different organizations and approaches to dealing with the environmental crisis's. But being involved in that way isn't for everyone. I dunno.
But i do know that leaving it to those "powers that be" won't do much good unless there's some kind of radical shift in Washington, etc. which doesn't seem likely.
I've been interested in and vocal about political matters/policy for a long while now. Over the years, I have learned to be measured in terms of my expectations, as I tried to explain before.
"The powers that be" may not be the best term I could use, certainly not one that generates much "love" in today's political climate, but allow me to attempt a bit better clarification here...
There is what we can and/or should do as individuals, and then there is what we as a people can do beyond that, as a collective, to advance as a society -- for better or worse -- whether we like it or not.
I am simply expressing the reality I know (that I believe applies to all of us). We do what we can as individuals and/or we do what we may choose as political activists. I have strong political opinions, but I am just not one to pretend I am a political activist.
I do the best I can as an individual (as husband, father and human) and I tolerate what others do to the contrary as best I can, also what "the powers that be" (generally speaking our government) decides for better or worse. I vote, and politically speaking -- from a practical standpoint -- I admit that's about the extent of my political activism.
If you are doing more or less or different than me in these regards, do please let me know what those differences are.
Meanwhile, again it seems to me it's all a matter of "different strokes for different folks," and I make no apologies or lose sleep at night for what I do or don't as a human in my circumstances. I am at peace with what I have come to expect in these regards, from myself, others and the world around me.
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Of course...
