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Sucking Out the World's Best Juices

August 06, 2007

susan_preston_mantis1.jpg

"Something new is upon us, and yet nothing is ever new... We are alive in a fearsome time, and we have been given new things to fear. We've been delivered huge blows but also huge opportunities to reinforce or reinvent our will, depending on where we look for honor and how we name our enemies. The easiest thing is to think of returning the blows. But there are other things we must think about as well, other dangers we face. A careless way of sauntering across the earth and breaking open its treasures, a terrible dependency on sucking out the world's best juices for ourselves—these may also be our enemies. The changes we dread most may contain our salvation."
~ Barbara Kingsolver

I tried to foreshadow this butterfly's premature brain-sucking demise, really I did. If you don't believe me, scroll down and notice the "eery foreshadowing".

(Maniacal cackling in the background)

Sorry if you find this disturbing. Well, not really... actually, I'm not sorry. Death is a part of life and a bit of Praying Mantis Carnage is nothing compared to what we're doing to the planet, not to mention each other. We hear the statistics, but do we really allow ourselves to sit with them?

Here's some figures for ya:

Number of species that went EXTINCT today: 74 to 150
(Yes, that's 27,010 to 54,750 per year)
Average number of miles your food travels to get to your plate: 1500
Amount of Cow Farts (methane gas) destroying the ozone layer: God only knows.
Barrels of oil consumed EACH DAY worldwide: 82,234,918
Death Toll in Iraq (American): 3,677
Death Toll in Iraq (Iraqi): 46,000-600,000, depending on the study

We've a terrible love for death and destruction, at least that's what the statistics show.

Moi? A terrible love of war? Well, what better explanation is there for the world we live in? At the very least, we've simply allowed ourselves to become dangerously ignorant. I worry the opportunity cost of feeding our comfort zones won't kick into gear until it's way too late. We're all too busy thinking our individual choices don't really add up. Why should Moi be the one to step outside of her comfort zone? It's corporate America who's to blame. Moi couldn't possibly be culpable. Moi is too special, let the hippees and the tree huggers take care of it.

Okay, let's ask Moi some questions, shall we?

Do you buy vegetables from an exotic location like South America? How about shrimp from Asia? How much gas did it take to get them from there to here? Do you bring your own cloth bags to the grocery store? Do you eat corn-fed beef? If so, do you have any idea the suffering cattle are subjected to in order to show up in your McDonald's hamburger? Do you take a moment to pause before eating your hamburger to consider a feedlot with 100,000 head of cattle produces as much waste as a city of 1.7 million people?* The mass production of beef in this country destroys the environment and uses 70% of the United State's antibiotics. Is this mindful? Is it healthy? Does it matter to you the US government subsidizes the farming of crops which have zero nutritional value? What does this say about our values as a nation? Are you comfortable and complacent with it as one of its citizens? What kind of car do you drive? Is it an SUV? Why is it so important to drive a foot higher off the road than everyone else? Why is it too embarrassing to own a station wagon? Why does Moi equate her value with the things she owns? Does Moi even remotely grasp her true value? If you own a smaller car, then why not a hybrid? Why don't you walk or bike to wherever you're going at least once or twice a month instead of driving? Do you recycle? Do you toss your ziplock bags out after one use, or do you wash and reuse them? Do you buy organic and locally-grown whenever you possibly can to support your local farmers? Have you written your congressman or walked in a Peace March? Do you cry over the loss of all human life in the war? Does the brokenness of the world move you to tears? Do you hang your clothes out to dry instead of using the dryer... at least sometimes? Do you look at the labels on the packaging of everything you buy and opt for the one created using recycled paper? Does the thought even enter your mind when you're zipping down the aisle with your grocery cart in a heart-killing marathon 'cuz you can't get where you can't remember you're supposed to be going fast enough? Where are we headed?

My report card is far from A+. If you feel your being judged, please remember I'm simply asking questions. None of us are 100% right or 100% wrong at any given time ~ it's the grey areas and an addiction to mediocrity that will eventually kill us.

If we all woke up and responded to the information above, corporate America, and the political parasites that feed upon it, would change course with the speed of lightning. Why? Corporations by definition only wish to increase their bottom line, and to do this they deliver what the HERD wants. We, the herd, dictate demand. We, the herd, elect the dopes we have in office. We, the herd, are solely responsible. We need to stop acting like a herd of helpless, brainless, passive cattle being led to the slaughter, and start acting like WE THE PEOPLE.

WE THE PEOPLE have come to realize that "Moi" is not the center of the universe, we are interconnected! WE THE PEOPLE demand affordable health care for all its citizens. WE THE PEOPLE are humane, and understand the suffering of the smallest among us affects all of humanity. WE THE PEOPLE care about the earth's sustainability and are willing to challenge our selfish behavior. WE THE PEOPLE don't just talk about a better world, WE THE PEOPLE have had enough and are ready to do something to create a better one. WE THE PEOPLE know the suffering of all beings will only multiply if we don't take full responsibility today, not tomorrow. WE THE PEOPLE should be putting the fear of god into our leaders in Washington.

The praying mantis up there might seem horrifically predatory, but at least he's praying over his food. At least he ate only what he needed, savored his meal, and left the garden precisely the way he found it. He's done nothing to disrupt the food chain or add to global warming. If this were a contest to decide who's the most dangerous predator, would the Praying Mantis or the Preying Man win?

One day in the not-so-distant future, the rug could get swept out from underneath us. Our greed, our ignorance, our love of luxury and disregard for the plight of our brothers is metaphorically perching itself, arms raised, ready to strike us out of our collective Flight of Fancy. It's the song of warning many souls have been singing for quite awhile now.

It's pretty easy to give lip service to all of this up here, but when will I take responsibility and start challenging my own cycles of dependency? We all have the resources within us to work miracles, so please share your stories and inspire others to think and choose differently.


*Source: King Corn ~ a movie documentary about the corn manufacturing in the United States. Keep you eyes peeled, it'll be released soon and I've been working with the director for the online advertising.

Shot in Charlottesville at Joan's. See her rendition here.

Posted by vincent at August 6, 2007 09:50 PM

Comments

Very insightful. Keep going! It really resonates with me.

Posted by: Bob at August 7, 2007 10:19 AM

Thank you for this post.

I do what I can - buy locally as much as possible, recycle (some), never make unnecessary trips (make every trip to town count since we live 20 miles out and have to drive a van to haul Em's wheelchair),grow my own veggies, use organic when I can get it,etc.,etc, etc...

Posted by: aola at August 7, 2007 12:08 PM

THAT will teach me not to read your blog backwards.

What a shot! No one at National Geographic could do any better. I think you should send your portforlio to them.

Posted by: janet at August 7, 2007 05:35 PM

spoken like a true mom (rolling my eyes, ha!)

Posted by: susan at August 7, 2007 05:37 PM

I sure do follow a lot of these rules. You got me with the washing out the plastic bags, however. Keep on preaching, Susan, for you are so right. We buy locally, do all of our errands at one time, walk to the grocery(when it is not 100^ or there abouts), buy local produce. The Chinese fish scare got me to asking where everything comes from these days. You GO GIRL!!

Posted by: janet at August 7, 2007 05:43 PM

Hey Susan. I admit I don't do all of those ... but 90 percent ... the one thing I want to do but haven't done it find a spot in the yard to hang out wet clothes. My mom saves every ziplock bag, every sour cream tub is reused until the print has washed off of it.

The state of our world brings me to tears, at least once a day. Whether it is another child killed by a roadside bombing or soldier killed, or child goes missing or another story about lack of water in some region.

Forget the wars ... I keep thinking how short-sighted we all are. Put all of those resources into educating children (they will be the masterminds of the future), and figuring out a way to back out of the gobal warming hell-hole we have sunk ourselves into. It seems so clear to me! And to you! And to most! I hate to think years from now we say "we saw the signs and didn't act quickly enough or rationally enough" "what were we thinking?"

The subject I keep bringing up to my architect neighbor is why they are not taking the lead in grey water recycling ... from-tub-to-garden? Or built in rain water catchers around every gutter? Why isn't every house have some form of solar paneling? smaller water heaters? These things should be standard, affordable for the masses ... retrofit kits .... and he tells me that it would not be cost-effective. People would not want to pay the extras for them. I say ... YOU take the charge and YOU started designing a house with those things in mind. We will follow!

Well, I live in an old, ill-built house. But I dream of those things. I fear the day we are fighting our neighbors for a clean glass of water.

Keep preaching to us, dear friend!

Posted by: kim at August 12, 2007 03:22 PM