2008 Woodie Awards
Don't fear the reaper
Jackie Hai. She can be reached at jhai@student.umass.edu.
Issue date: 5/9/07 Section: Editorial / Opinion
Today, it's happening all over again. We've wrecked the environment, overdrawn our resources and lived in a society considered unjust by many. While we can't exactly pack up and leave anymore (where would we go?), we certainly can reject the failed institutions of power by abandoning what isn't working.
What's not working? Our dependence on fossil fuels, for one and the accumulation of power and wealth in a tiny number of hands, for another. We see the two align when, in the interest of profit, oil companies block legislation that would decrease oil consumption and advance research into alternative sources of energy. They are on a self-destructive path.
As we grow increasingly fed up with the current state of affairs, we should remember that power is ultimately in our hands. Just like in Kuijt's observation about our ancestors, we are the crucial second half of that formula for change. When enough of us want it, change becomes inevitable.
Collapse is a scary word, but it doesn't have to be. We are not automatons in a mechanical system, doomed to be thrown in the gutter when it all comes crashing down. We are not swept up by forces beyond our control. As creatures gifted with rational thought and possessing free will, we can abandon the bad and rebuild on the good.
There's no denying that it was probably easier to instigate change in a village of 300 people than it would be in a nation of 300 million. But we have our advantages too, such as advanced communications technology. We've already seen the viability and power of grassroots organizing, a phenomenon that is bound to gain more traction over time.
What goes around comes around, and there will be no exception made for the people in power today who are botching things up. As for the rest of us, we average citizens may have our work cut out for us rebuilding a better society, but we don't need to be paralyzed by fear.
After all, if we've been here before, we can do it again. And that's reason enough to stay optimistic about the future.
What's not working? Our dependence on fossil fuels, for one and the accumulation of power and wealth in a tiny number of hands, for another. We see the two align when, in the interest of profit, oil companies block legislation that would decrease oil consumption and advance research into alternative sources of energy. They are on a self-destructive path.
As we grow increasingly fed up with the current state of affairs, we should remember that power is ultimately in our hands. Just like in Kuijt's observation about our ancestors, we are the crucial second half of that formula for change. When enough of us want it, change becomes inevitable.
Collapse is a scary word, but it doesn't have to be. We are not automatons in a mechanical system, doomed to be thrown in the gutter when it all comes crashing down. We are not swept up by forces beyond our control. As creatures gifted with rational thought and possessing free will, we can abandon the bad and rebuild on the good.
There's no denying that it was probably easier to instigate change in a village of 300 people than it would be in a nation of 300 million. But we have our advantages too, such as advanced communications technology. We've already seen the viability and power of grassroots organizing, a phenomenon that is bound to gain more traction over time.
What goes around comes around, and there will be no exception made for the people in power today who are botching things up. As for the rest of us, we average citizens may have our work cut out for us rebuilding a better society, but we don't need to be paralyzed by fear.
After all, if we've been here before, we can do it again. And that's reason enough to stay optimistic about the future.
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