tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post3369064685804915864..comments2023-10-25T05:30:54.507-04:00Comments on Oh Get A Grip!: I Think NotAshe Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03390519279886657608noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-56451445022577653442015-07-31T00:20:27.101-04:002015-07-31T00:20:27.101-04:00Yeah, that's something I wouldn't know muc...Yeah, that's something I wouldn't know much about. I'm sure lots gets done on-line these days. For one thing, it is easier to register an opinion with a congressional representative.. Daddy Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927663248424944119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-82121998890003022582015-07-29T22:29:29.676-04:002015-07-29T22:29:29.676-04:00Congrats to Momma X!
I agree that it's hard t...Congrats to Momma X!<br /><br />I agree that it's hard to figure out how much to pay attention to the news, what with its extremely depressing contents. I do think there's more going on with younger people than is suggested in the comments here. One can't ignore that many people congregate online these days, and protests in that form can have power.Annabeth Leonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07455191827664110878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-50517887253405467742015-07-29T18:47:53.152-04:002015-07-29T18:47:53.152-04:00Perhaps it was easier for our generation in that b...Perhaps it was easier for our generation in that being involved was 'hip'. Activism defined the 'in' crowd. Now there are other focuses for teens. See what passes for 'hipster' these days? Some twenty-something with a baseball hat, khaki shorts and t-shirt with the company logo. hipster indeed! More like a conformist. <br /><br />Grrr. Stay off my lawn! :>)Daddy Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927663248424944119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-66016437493152545092015-07-29T13:06:38.142-04:002015-07-29T13:06:38.142-04:00My husband and kids are always telling me to stop ...My husband and kids are always telling me to stop reading/thinking/talking about things I can't do anything about. But if we all bury our heads in the sand, then the !% with the power and money will continue to run roughshod over the planet, consuming it until there's nothing left even for them. I've been an avid environmentalist since the 70s, recycling before it was convenient, way before we had curbside pick-up in our leafy suburb. <br /><br />It does seem like only old folks care to protest anymore. I joined a group, DAWN: DuPage (county) Against War Now, back when George W. started the Iraq war. Husband and I went to candlelight vigils, but even our boys, who had to register with the Selective Service when they turned 18, couldn't find the time or interest to join us. I got certified to register people to vote, and my one son berates me, telling me that I should stop "registering these uninformed morons to vote." (Note: I was the one to teach my kids that most people don't get any wiser as they age, they remain as uneducated and ignorant as they were when young. Very frustrating to those of us who actually use both lobes of our brains for things other than keeping your ears separate.) But since I sub in high schools, I primarily register teens who turn 18, and young people attending our local junior college. Some decline to register telling me they don't even care enough to find out about the candidates or issues, so why bother. Sigh. I know it's tough growing up, and adulthood is fraught with perils never anticipated or predicted back in our day. But still, why not take advantage of your right to influence, however minutely, the future?<br /><br />Before he passed away, my late father would rail on and on about how ignorant and disingenuous the US politicians were, and he'd send me articles from The Guardian, because the "British papers at least report the news, not that celebrity shite." Funny, since Rupurt Murdoch started his tabloid empire in Britain. But I had to agree that The Guardian on-line has more substantive articles, just like Al-Jazeera reports more substantively on issues than the networks who seem primarily concerned with the latest fashion trends of the rich and fatuous. But a few days before he died, he told me he was "sick of the whole thing. He didn't care any longer if the planet went to hell in a hand-basket, because he wasn't going to be around to see it, so he didn't give any shits anymore." Then he died.<br /><br />I tell my kids that's how they'll know I'm not long for this world. When I stop caring, and stop railing on about the injustices being perpetuated against the citizens of our planet by those with no conscience, then I'll be preparing myself to depart. Until then, I'm going to send them articles, talk about things around the campfire, and yes, yell about things when I get angry. I work too much to be able to volunteer much, but I do what I can. Fiona McGierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13495707848048468428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-23412137041845291202015-07-29T11:49:41.060-04:002015-07-29T11:49:41.060-04:00We depend on the left/right pendulum to swing even...We depend on the left/right pendulum to swing evenly, but it seems to have been pretty static since 1980. Jammed against the right wall.<br /><br />And, yes. Bernie Sanders. The only one out there for altruistic reasons. Talking sense, no less! He doesn't have a chance against all the crazy rhetoric. He's just too smart to be trusted by the masses. Remember: An ignorant or hateful vote has the same elective value as an educated vote.Daddy Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927663248424944119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-41848232227624800972015-07-29T11:40:10.577-04:002015-07-29T11:40:10.577-04:00Yes, to some extent, bad news makes more of a spla...Yes, to some extent, bad news makes more of a splash than the good. That's the carrot of optimism I mentioned in the first paragraph. That's the smidgen of hope we can only pray will catch hold and blossom in the public eye. <br /><br />Another good indicator for optimism is that Momma X won recognition at a dinner last night for "Volunteer of the Year" in our county environmental group.<br /><br />Yay grrrrl!Daddy Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927663248424944119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-78117523609710347622015-07-29T09:56:35.490-04:002015-07-29T09:56:35.490-04:00Like Daddy X, I worry that the environmental succe...Like Daddy X, I worry that the environmental successes have been made in the recent past, not right now, and in fact the advances are being challenged by those who want to dismantle them, funded by those who would profit from dismantling. I do still have some hope for the political atmosphere to swing back toward rational thought for the future. Regarding Bernie Sanders, I.m reminded of the theory that a country needs two Chief Executives, one for domestic affairs and one for world affairs. But that would need an overhaul to our Constitution, and if we haven't even been able to pass the ERA amendment, I don't see any prospects for any Constitutional amendments. Sacchi Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10801164916418570059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-14994107832337794732015-07-29T08:20:38.810-04:002015-07-29T08:20:38.810-04:00One factor you have to consider: bad news makes fo...One factor you have to consider: bad news makes for good advertising copy. It's easy to imagine dystopias--heck, I've done it many time-- but in there are many positive developments in the world that don't get any press at all. Not all the news about the environment, for instance, is depressing. There are success stories like the wolves in Yellowstone, the rejuvenation of rivers once hopelessly polluted, the fact that CFCs have been phased out. They just don't sell papers (or iPhones, or whatever is being advertised these days).<br /><br />I have to admit that the political and economic situation in the US is pretty frustrating. But then I listen to Bernie Sanders and I feel better. Some people do still get it.<br /><br />Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.com