This is an image of Tecumseh, the fierce Shawnee warrior. Tecumseh knew that the only hope his people had was to unite all of the tribes together in one great army against the constantly invading whites. He spent 10 years trying to do this, traveling across the country on horseback trying to get each tribe to join together against their brutal foe. In the end, he died fighting the whites, having been unsuccessful in uniting all of the tribes. Human competition defeated yet another great culture.
In the last year I have gone through some major philosophical shifts, and I have had a desire for the last few months to write about it. To be honest, I went through a good 6 months of emotional crisis over learning the truth of what industrial civilization is doing to the planet, the tragedy in Japan being the latest terror. I spent nights imagining a dark ocean without any life, massive numbers of humans starving from the failing growing seasons, polar bears drowning into extinction. There are too many horrible realities happening on the planet as we speak: massive species extinction, climate change, ocean acidification, on and on. I looked inside myself, one alive human being right here right now, and asked myself what the fuck I should do about it. I mean really, if we know that coal emissions are capable of starting a chain reaction that will extinct almost all life on this beautiful planet, and the powers that be will ignore this fact into oblivion, isn't blowing up a fucking coal fired power plant the most important thing I can do with my life, and as many more before I get caught? Of course, this does nothing to solve the ongoing problem of humans being unable to work together. But, hell, if industrial civilization is not stopped soon, we may no longer even have the chance to work our shit out. I have struggled with this. How do you justify your life when you aren't on the front lines? How do we deal with the very grim reality that we are born and raised in the most destructive culture that has ever existed, and that it is up to us, at this very crucial moment, to change it?
Well I have obviously not bombed any coal fired power plants. I have chosen to go the route of underground education. I think we desperately need front line activists, and more of them. And I think some of them in a lot of ways have more balls then I do. But I have travelled the country enough and have interacted with enough people to know that very few are aware of how serious this situation is. It is my job to educate as many as possible. And it is also my job to end as much horizontal hostility as I possibly can.
The planet is dying, and industrial corporations, along with the power behind them, are causing it. Those of us who are aware can not waste one second bragging about how we have the right approach, the right answer. The truth is, as I believe it, that the point isn't which effort is the way. It is that all of these efforts must somehow come together. I live at Zendik Farm and for the most part agree with every part of our philosophy. I also agree with a lot of anti-technology, anti-civilization philosophy. I also agree with some anarchist/front line militant philosophy. I also agree with some pacifist philosophy. Oh my God, which one is right? It doesn't fucking matter. What matters is that we are on the brink of planetary and human extinction, and we need to start working together like never before. That is our only hope. In a way it is a blessing. We are being more and more stripped of our egos. I find this concept of dropping our egos very important. I believe that at the root, all that will matter is if we can work together and stop this system, or not.
I am as much of a perpetrator of this bullshit as anybody. I have gotten really mad at pro-technology people. I have walked away in arogance and anger feeling like other people don't get it. It is a waste of time, and now I see I was only priding myself. The point is: Do I know what is going on? Yes. Do I care? Yes. What is the best way that I, who I actually am, can help change it? Am I getting more people on board, or am I pulling away from people? We need to have this dialogue. We need to come together. It is the only way.
Ok friends, tonight I have an awesome video from this amazing French rap artist that I lately have been obsessed with, Keny Arkana. Enjoy!
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