Between a Rock and a Hard Place - Informal Youth Sharing About Sustainability 2009

8/14/2019 Between a Rock and a Hard Place - Informal Youth Sharing About Sustainability 2009

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Between a rock and a hard placePartagerlundi 2 mars 2009 08:54So its been 2 months since Ive returned from an almost 3 yearexperience in Pakistan and India. So much has changed for me, that even

still I find re-adapting to the Canadian culture difficult.I suppose some of the experiences I had will never leave me, some truthsyou cannot just sweep under a carpet. Now that I am back in Canada, thehardest part is trying to share those experiences I had in a way that helppeople understand these truths that I have seen: poverty, exploitation,corruption, dishonesty. I guess this feeling is shared by anyone in the fieldof sustainability. The question eludes me, while I find myself stuckbetween a rock and a hard place. The worst of all, for me, is falling on deafears to the ones that are supposed to be closest and most beloved to us:our family.

The conundrum, in which I have befallen, is where to cross the line whenon one side of it you know you cannot tell another person what s/he isdoing wrong and how to live their life, on the other hand you cannot standidle watching while ignorance is harming innocent people (and theenvironment) thousands and millions of miles away.

What would you do if stuck in this situation, crying desperately to beheard, to share some tiny morsel of experience, that may trigger anawakening to just how damaging the majority of North Americans live.

I know, Im being harsh, accusing, judging. I know, but what would you do?What would you do if you knew someone was doing something that

unbenownst to them is harming others, often, many others.

What makes you so much smarter than usor who are you to think youknow whats best for usare two phrases I hear in defense whenever Ipoint out the pointless obessive purpose to an electronic pepper mill. Iwish I had all the answers, no one has all the answers. I do have a lot ofquestions though, like these:

1. Why do we not question why places like Wal-mart can offer suchridiculously low prices? Can we not accept the reality that there are

underpaid Chinese men and women (and often children) living andworking in deplorable conditions to put together crappy products thataredesigned to be either broken, or unfashionable within 6 months. Not tomention the lives lost and sold into slavery over the extraction ofcocoa forour chocolates, and diamonds for our dogs new burberry jacket?

2. Why we unquestioningly believe the FDA or our government wouldnever approve any products that would be harmful to us, yet allow tobaccoproducts in abundance, toxic chemicals to remain in shampoo, soaps,unrecyclable plastics to cover our produce, genetically modified fruits andvegetables that carry ridiculous newest health wave trend setter likepro-and pre-biotics (wtf?), animal meat that is so pumped with hormones(Bovine growth hormone), that ourmother-to-bes breast milk containsdioxin (read deadly manmade toxin, leads to cancer) and our children are
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hitting puberty earlier, and getting fatter and bulkier than anytime inrecorded history.

3. Why we have to pay more for healthy food, since when did healthbecome a choice? shouldnt it be a given, like air or water?

4. Why do we allow companies to drill in our backyards, pollute our freshwater streams, and kill off communities and bio-diversity that has lived onthe land for far longer than the English language has been around, just toturn around and sell us that which we used to get for free and inabundance: Water! Tap water vs bottled water hasbeen proven (and again) to be a hoax, a self satisfying delusion thattastes oh so goodwith our pre-bionic, certified organic, high in calciumand omega-3, with 0 trans-fat and low cholestoral, diet, meals.

5. Why is it okay to bag our groceries in non-recyclable plastics producedfrom petrol, and drive SUVs in urban areas when we know that a largepercentage ofgasoline money goes to Saudi Arabia who uses a lot of thatmoney to build madrassas all over the world, many of which teach afundamentalist form of Islam, which only leads to more terrorism. Oh yea,not to mention that oil and gas production is a major cause of globalwarming (automobile emissions alone contribute to 30% of CO2 releasedinto the atmosphere in the United States alone), and not to mentiondestruction to natural habitats; but as long as there is demand, the oilcompanies have an excuse to continue making money.

6. Why do we believe we can obtain quality of life or social stature byowning material things? We keep ourselves in sub-urban bubbles, ignorantof the thought about where our products come from, and most important,

where it goes once we are done? Why do our politicians refer to us asconsumers and not citizens? Why do we consider quality time to includethe family sitting around watching TV, not communicating, not sharing, notcaring - and we wonder why teen depression and suicide rates are rising?We have less leisure time than any society in recorded history, and ourgeneral effectiveness at work has dropped dramatically, mainly to do withthe over-stimulation of advertisements trying to get our attention aroundevery corner!

7. Why do we believe that drugs will cure our illnesses and not causeothers? Why so much attention on treatment and not more on prevention?

With staggering rising cancer and asthma rates in industrial nations, isntthere more that can be done to keep us healthy? Why do pharmacompanies experiment on psychological abnormalities in children bydiagnosing them with A.D.D.? More importantly why would doctors buyinto this practice that is causing more harm than good to our childrensearly stages of development?

How are we supposed to trust anything in a world so wrought incorruption, and so blind to the public eye?

So tell me, am I wrong to ask these questions? Should I just accept thingsas they are? Wait till someone else figures out a solution? (or invent

something that could kill us all).
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Is it true I dont have a right to tell you how to live your life, when themedia and society do so much of a better job at it than I do? Maybe I dontwant to tell you how to live your life, these questions should be more thanenough to prompt you to ask your own questions and find out whatever itis you can do to jump off this crazy train speeding toward a cliff without

breaks.Whats that? You want solutions? I thought you didnt want someonetelling you how to live your life. Well I dont have solutions for you, onlyexperiences on how I try to live a little bit better. But youll have to contactme or comment to hear what I have to say, Im sick of trying to get yourattention. Its your turn to do something now.

Mis jour il y a environ une semaine - Commenter -J'aime - Voir lemessage d'origine - Signaler cet articleJuanita Kwarteng, Emad Nadim et 4 autres personnes aiment a.

Ramla Akhtar, 18:18 le 2 marsDear Archer:

In between a question and its (obvious - to us!) answer lies an approach.

It is not the answer that matters as much as the journey to that answer.

Simply put: say we are tasked with giving a drawing class to fifth-graders.

Or a science class about atoms. How are we going to make it interestingfor them? Are they going to love it? Or must they come out with the fear ofbeing ranked A, B, C?

Nobody really wants to END UP with a fabulous painting (unless, they are acollector - and not even then!) as much as they want to enjoy the processof getting their hands dirty.

And what good is it to learn how what atoms and how many? It is thescientific curiosity, the lab experiments, the successes and failures, thepoorly drawn diagrams thrown in the dust bin that matter. THEY REALLYMATTER. Pun unintentionally intended.

That is why humanity is going on. To APPROACH the answers we've had forthousands and thousands of years anyway.

Ramla Akhtar, 18:24 le 2 marsSpeaking of the collector -- say you were at an art exhibition. And younotice two buyers.

One say, "Good. Book exhibits #23, 19, and 47 for me. How many dollars?
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How do I pay?" Let's say s/he did pick really swell pieces.

The other walks around. Steps back and forth to take in a piece of art.Seems to make (mental) notes. Stands in silence and in awe. Explains to awild-eyed companion the marvels s/he sees in a lovely painting.... makes

you want to eavesdrop, and perhaps go home and Google the stuff youdidn't know about, but learned by overhearing.

This buyer buys one piece - or perhaps just walks off in dizzy admiration.

Which one of the two inspires you? Makes you LOVE art?

This is what people want: a sense of joy and liberation. Not answers. We allknow the answers. Our task as a teacher (in any capacity) is to put peopleabove answers.

Hugo Bonjean, 19:09 le 2 marsGreat note! You made people think, that is all we can do for others (as wellas loving them). Then the only thing that remains is to live and lead byexample and defend the exploited and our precious planet from theactions of those that carry a vision of exploitation, a vision different fromours, a vision they are ruthlessly executing.When you stand up for your vision, you will be loved and you will be hated.Get used to that and learn to respect those who are fighting for a differentvision, they live with more integrity than those who only dream ofsustainability and don't take action towards creating their vision. They alsogive you a chance to show to yourself how much you believe in your ownvision and what are willing to sacrify for it.As you clearly learned, questions are more powerful in moving peoplebehind your vision than answers could ever be. Questions move the soul,answers (when they come from someone else) attact the ego. Keep doingmore of this.

NimRa A, 19:21 le 2 marswrite for adbusters.i think u r obligated to.this belongs in there. canadianbhee hai, yarr..kurtinder :p

many others ask these questions and ramla's mentioned journey to theanswers has just begun. collective habbits are the hardest to break(theparadigm of war?)

preaching never works.only when it collapses only then maybe"they" will

rethink, reconstruct, re-cycle, re-use, re-alise.
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today i met a genius. an autistic child, a seventh-grader with "learnignproblems" and yet he's constructed a solar powered charger by himselfand working on integrating solar panels with a ups system! and all wespoke about for 30 mins// like two kindred spirits was.. volts, adapters andbatteries. hah. i am in awe. All i coudl do was look up and say"keep the

new ones coming, we need them down here"..maybe he is crystal child.

ill be teachign him. but in reality i think he will be teaching me more.

NimRa A, 19:25 le 2 marswhen i was 17, my best friend stormed out on me at a perfume storebecause i refused to decide on wht to buy: everythign n there was eithercancerious or manufactured by a company that tested on animals or

contributed to israel's millitary fund..the shelves were lined with choices in fancy bottles endorsed bysupermodels and yet not one i coudl take.

this is a culture and society of the illusion of choice and yet depriving us ofour most basic rights.

change HAS to come.

Emad Nadim, 21:48 le 2 marsChange is only sustainable when it is aligned with the interests of thosethat intend to be part of it. As long as interests, economic and otherwise,remain disparate to our ideal 'vision' of where the world should be headed,we will find ourselves with little support.

More research went into alternative energy in the last 2 yrs, not becausewe suddenly acknowledged that we were pillaging this planet, but becauseoil prices rocketed and it was economical to now put this research intoplace. Tesco, Walmart or Carrefour - they will continue to stay competitiveas long as they offer a price point so low despite the evidence that maycome forth around their practices, simply because an alternative that maybe better in it's supply chain, needs to also be as efficient to make sense.Fairtrade chocolate and coffee will never be the driver of these industriesiif it has a differential price point.

Emad Nadim, 21:51 le 2 marsPlastic bags, packaging materials, and the use of water in industry has

only now begun to diminish due to the economic case that exists to doingso.
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At least for now, this seems to be my understanding of the perceptionsthat lead human nature by and large.

That is not to say that perceptions cannot be moulded and that this

process cannot be expedited via colouring them with positive influence. Inthat sense, the power of influencing is as essential as the power of ideasitself.

Hassan Bin Rizwan, 03:45 le 3 marsKurt, beautiful piece! Great insight! And since you asked as to what youcan do. Write man! Write about it more and forget about the response.Look at the evolutionary scientists and how they keep pushing for the

wider acceptance of the scientific discoveries that stare right into the faceof all religious belief. No criticism tires them. They just keep on arguingback with more evidence.

Ramla, I love your take on the concept of learning and discovering. I totallyagree with you. Success or failure are simply two outliers in the spectrumof learning and discovering.

We have been conditioned into taking things for granted and ourquestioning spirit continues to wither away. In this age of consumerism,only consumers get consumed. We are all stuck in the cycle of workingincreasingly hard to earn increasingly less (in real terms) to pay moretoday for what we bought yesterday. It is a sad picture.

Just keep on writing Kurt!

Nandan N Bhoopalam, 05:01 le 3 marsNice writing keep it going :)

Kurt Archer, 05:42 le 3 marsThank you all for your comments. I must admit, this was a bit of a rant bywhich I only wanted to share so much, but saw so little by way of avenueto share. Thank you for your encouragement Hassan, maybe I do need towrite more.You're right Emad, this post doesn't celebrate the success we haveachieved in the last decade, and there has been so much success, I hopeto write more about those successes and less about the harsh reality we

find ourselves in today. It pointless to even ask how we got here, its beengenerations of good intentions in the making.


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Nimra, you are right, the most vulnerable in society will be the ones toteach and remind us of what is most important. Although, im not sure Iwould jive with Adbusters, but i could give it a shot! Thank you!Thank you for your comments Hugo, accepting that there will be tensionwhenever change is involved is the toughest part.

Ramla: May the collector be greeting by a piece that reminds him of whyhe has become a collector. Awe.

Ramla Akhtar, 06:43 le 3 marsDear Kurt: There is always a piece, if not all pieces put together, that canenable awe. The intent to perceive this lies in the eye.

Hassan's idea is actually the best in your case. Keep writing. Let writing

show you where you're meant to go.

Juanita Kwarteng, 08:15 le 3 marsMan this writing was THE SHIITT! BOMB DIGGITY YO! I loved the commentsby the way..Kurt you have some cool friends!I believe that your rant has shown alot more about yourself than yourealize..I think its shown that there's a way that you think the world shouldbe and that its something worth taking action for, worth fighting for, worth

writing about...And sometimes I think that we take that passion for granted...so I think itsgood that you found something worthwhile to be angry enough..becausethat anger and fustration can motivate you to do something about it.Especially in the part of the world that really that wastes alot..I dont think you can tell people who to live..BUT...its the people that we alladmire, the people's products that we use everyday...its them that havechanged our lives...by creating something new. They thought the worldcould better and were angry enough t do something about it...I hope that you use how you feel to create something..to create a new way

Juanita Kwarteng, 08:17 le 3 marsof thinking about the environment...create something or work forsomething that allows you to work towards the world you want to create.Passion and Anger are great great things....use them! :)Use all the fluffy shit inside your head....:) People spend their whole livestrying to find something worth fighting for....I think that in 25 years you found hours.so your pretty blessed...thanks for sharing kurt..

Bani


8/10

Ricky Richard Seshie, 14:00 le 9 marsI watched seven years in Tibet yesterday and this tibetan saying wellsummarizes how I feel about life, so the issue of sustainability too: If theproblem can be solved, there is no use to be worried about it, if it can't besolved, worrying will do no good.''Not to worry does not mean you should not act or give all you have in thegutsNot to worry means and i will take a spiritual stance here - is that thisproblem is not you, is not who I AM ultimately. Do not forget everythinghere is maya, mere illusion - we're not consumers or citizens, we're notfathers or mothers, nor husband and wife, canadians, chinese,indians...those are just roles given to camp. You see the baby, the very

first moment he is born and comes out from his mum's belly does he saywith his cries: 'look, I am canadian'

Ricky Richard Seshie, 14:01 le 9 marsOf course not, we are just plain essence bottled in our ego madness and Ibet if each of us could awaken its consciousness just for few minutes, wewould realize the madness going on we are inflicting to ourselves so thoseare words to tell you not to trouble your being and aim for the highest in

our human natureNow.....boom! What happens, welcome to the real world!!! So we dothings, we can't ignore all those things happening here & there andaffecting us...I like this quote saying: there is no man and no place without a war.Everything we do is a matter of choice - to go or not go, do or not do, to besustainable or not to and when you say this guy is unsustainable, in a wayyou stand up for an ideal, you fight for a belief, you brand what he does aswrongdoing and you go to war.To be sustainable for me is worth sthg fighting for though

Ricky Richard Seshie, 14:01 le 9 marsNow, let's look closer as what i understand to be sustainable1. There is no question of sustainability without unsustainability; to whatwould you then compare sustainability? We should ACCEPT that we canencounter both everydayPeople acting unsustainable deny they could change what they do in anew way to be more sustainablePeople acting sustainable are sick when someone throw a paper on the

streets and deny the very notion of throwing (what if I eat my orange andthrow a seed in the soil in a city public park, wont it nourish it, perhaps
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growing a tree?)On one side or another, Ive seen people blaming themselves way toomuch so they are worried and it gives no news to the problem, realizing itis enough2. Sustainability & unsustainability have been around for hundreds of

years, perhaps millenniaWe just gave them modern names

Ricky Richard Seshie, 14:02 le 9 marsThe point why sustainability is so important today is simply thatunsustainability has taken way too much proportion that it threatens oursurvival a specie and every living creature, including earthOur fight is not to bring unsustainability to extinct but to melt

sustainability & unsustainability back again together so that in 20, 50years (if we have time), our children will not encounter those very notionsin their day to day lifeOur timeless job i guess is to claim back a lost balance, the equilibrium iwill picture as a yin-yang circled3. There is PLENTY and PLENTY; those words about lack, scarcity drive mecrazyOf course, there is lack, diminution, scarcity within the system and only inthe system answers said to be great so far have been to deprive peoplefrom rights, add new burdens or put a priceWe say you dont have the right to drink safe water, oooh you go green bychanging the color of your pants quite complicated huh or I make basmatirice (just an example) so rare

Ricky Richard Seshie, 14:03 le 9 marsor make sure you perceive it that way so i charge you so high you can'tafford it and it becomes an elite/luxury thing and I profitWhile some of those solutions temporary are needed to prevent furthercatastrophe, some are completely ridiculous and outrageous so why don'twe change the system if it is that bad? Imagination as always been one ofour strengthWhy dont we come up with new economic, social and environmentalmodels that benefit us all and give us a sense of pleasure & dignity aboutlife?4. Needless to say we're the one's inflicting all that pain to ourselves sowe're the one that can say stop to the bleeding! and come up withsolutions.I am excited to be part of a growing conscious generation; to be aCONSCIOUS PIONEER, so you should!!!

Pioneers have this of uncommon that makes us special, we never allowourselves to be in an indefinite state of rest
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The goal and the journey towards the goal both really matters and Ramlapointed it very nicely

Ricky Richard Seshie, 14:04 le 9 marsIf we knew where we will be heading after death, you would see we woulddevise strategies to prevent, accelerate or create new horizons, this is ahuman traitThis to say despite all the predictions around, we don't know where we willhead to in 10 years or reach ultimately so that makes everyday a new dayof mystery & wonder where we can feel joy and upset, excitement andsorrow, everything and nothingEverything I just said may not be right and I myself keep learning everydaybut Sustainability is worth giving it some fights

So yes I like that advice; keep writing, keep doing, keep giving all you havein the guts and try to enjoy every moment my friend

PS: i am sorry, i didnt expect it to post it in 6 comments

Edyson Dos Santos, 14:25 le 9 marsThe best way not to forget is to practice... I am not stating a truth, I am nota fan of "truths". That is humbly what I have learned through the different

paths I've taken.

And practice is also the best way I have learned to share and engage.

I wish you practice.Small practices, big practices, it does not matter as soon as you don'tfollow your talk with your walk, but more importantly, your walk becomesyour talk.

Not easy to reach, it requires practice :)A lot of it...

Love tons,

Dey

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Documents

Between a Rock and a Hard Place - Informal Youth Sharing About Sustainability 2009