After the past few discussions on saving ourselves, I have started to pay more attention to people’s actions to their desires and needs. This past weekend, I decided to see the movie “2012”, which I believe is a great example of how people act in desperate times. This movie is based on the Mayan theory of the worlds on December 2012 and the displacement theory which suggests the worlds plates will shift. The government was blinding the population from believing that the world was coming to an end, which led to self-denial for many.
As Bandura argues that we can disguise environmentally harmful practices and dress them up in words to help ease our consciences, but such practices will have a negative impact on the planet and the quality of life of future generations, no matter how we label them."
However, once world destruction began, everyone wanted to save themselves and no one else. The main character of the movie seeks help from many, yet each time he finds help- he is denied because the other people only want to help themselves and their family. Once help is found, he realizes that money plays an important role in saving one from destruction. Thousands of wealthy people are loaded onto an ark causing much chaos. Living in a society where people claim that they are responsible for one another (as seen all on the UAlbany Poll postings), it is hard to imagine people being denied admission to safety just because they cannot afford it.
“You want to give your passes to a bunch of Chinese workers, be my guest”.
This quote was said by one of the characters, which was running for his life. However, he does not take into consideration that without the help of the workers, this ark would have never been built. The main character becomes furious with the way people began to act and decided to put his foot down for everyone and not just himself.
“ I know we have been forced to act a certain way and being human is to work together and to maintain a civilization- and if what you are doing now is humane or civil, then we cannot go on like this. The moment we stop fighting each other, that will be the moment we will have humanity”.
This made me this of Bailey and the Tactical Uses of Passion. Bailey believed that civic is what holds together a social group and is the set of responsibilities, which an individual holds. While divine, is greater than self but relates to a bigger outcome in the world. Overall, people have a right to same themselves from destruction, however it should be your duty to help others in need.
Our world is made up of people from different social levels, cultures and backgrounds. However, each individual person impacts the world in one-way or another.
Szasz reminds us that people respond to threat in different ways. However social movement is collective and is acts in a systematic way. In order words, we as individuals may be the cause of our own problems. For example, much of our food is grown with high levels of antibiotics, which we inject into our animals. We are trying to run from problems that we started.
Many of us have become so blinded by what we are forced to believe that we do not stop to think of the consequences. We look for ways out of our problems by consuming “better products”. By doing so, we are only saving ourselves. The more economically stable beings are able to purchase “green” products which they believe will save them from disaster. This is just like the movie 2012, where the wealthy people are all running to the ark to seek for safety because they have been forced to believe it is their only “safe” option. We only look for a safe way out for ourselves. However, this can and potentially does lead to a detrimental outcome. How could someone keep running without looking back? How can one consume production without consideration of others?
We all rely on each other greatly and it is wrong not to fight for each other. The less fortunate produce the products that we believe will save us and yet, we don’t stop to think that they are supplying us with “safer products” that they cant even afford to have. But, we still continue to consume these products and further degrade our environment. As noted by Dardozzi, the more energy efficient products we used, the more environment trashing we cause.
Regardless whether we are being bombarded with advertisements to consume certain energy saving products or to change the environment- there is a way to help others while you help yourself. It is very easy to fall under the trap and want to believe the commercials and advertisements we see. However we need to consider whether they are actually true. As individuals we need evaluate the outcomes of these newly formed products and consider whether they will help a society.
Humans are social creatures and have been throughout evolution. We all follow certain social norms and it would be a fib if someone stated that they never followed a path. One thing that needs to be recognized is that if we all put a small share into an incident, it will be must easier to recover. The question is, is it too late? Heinberg brings a great argument that the question should not to be whether it is too late. Rather, he argues that it is too late in some respects and the transition of change would have been much easier if he had started years ago prior to the “peak” of depletion.
As Professor Kleppel stated, “Be the Shepard”- he is absolutely right. We need to make the change and put a stop to constant expansion. Expansion will not help solve our problems; instead it will increase out problems. We know that people’s ability to contribute to the decisions of others lives is effective in social organizations. As Heinberg states “it is easier to make one’s voice heard in a town meeting than in a national election”. This is absolutely true, small communities were always in contact and discuss plans and ideas will seek “savior” quicker than larger populations that are reluctant to speak up for themselves.
What will make the change? Adding organic food to 1% of the populations nutrition to “save one family”, or enforce regulations which will save many families?
- Partys Over- Chapter 6
- Szasz: Section III- Chapter 6 and 7
- Jevon’s Paradox
- Bailey Article.
- Professor Kleppels Guest Lecture
-Albert Bandura-Impeding ecological sustainability through selective moral disengagement
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