Since the day my children were placed in my arms, I’ve felt the awesome responsibility of what it meant to be a mother. Every article you’ve ever read about a mother’s protective instincts, that shared feeling of sisterhood towards women everywhere and a love so powerful it still makes me tear up in drawing upon its memory, that was what I felt as I took each child to my breast. I’m not at all an anxious person, more free range than helicopter, but I take my duties quite seriously. As a mother, feminist and thinking human being, I’m a little pissed, disappointed and astonished by our failure to address our moral obligations to future generations. About a year ago, I had my first exposure to Greta Thunberg. This young woman pretty much blew my mind with her concise and brutally honest assessment of her own future. If you haven’t heard her speak, I implore you to look her up on YouTube.
I’ve always been an armchair environmentalist who dabbled in vegetarianism (it didn’t stick, I’m anemic), cloth diapered (not all the time, washing shit is exhausting), but really wants whole hardheartedly to preserve a world in balance. I’m as big a hypocrite as the next person. But I’m aware of what I’d be willing to sacrifice in order to create a power structure and collective community that actively planned for subsequent generations. No band-aids or ill thought out patches for problems that truly need restructuring. A world that is not dominated by human beings. Wonderful, harmonic cohabitation with all the species on this planet. As time passes I read headline after headline about a world that seems to be collapsing all around us. I feel the necessity of this movement daily.
We torture and kill two billion sentient living beings every week. 10,000 entire species are wiped out every year because of the actions of one, and we are now facing the sixth mass extinction in cosmological history. If any other organism did this, a biologist would consider them a virus — Philip Wollen
Some people might take offense to this quote. I see the truth of it and include myself as a member of that virus. I’m just as guilty of the usual excesses like birthday parties, shopping at Walmart to save a dime (I love you and hate you Walmart) generalized waste and self indulgence. I do not always make the best choices. Present trends present a fairly negative prognosis for the planet don't you think? Being objective about this is a difficult task. There is so much of my heart involved.
My husband and I waffled for years as to whether we wanted to have children. We wondered what kind of parents we would be and considered if adoption weren’t a more ethical choice. I was naive enough then to believe that mankind would collectively get its head out of its ass and do the right thing for humanity. I’m really rethinking this position. Inertia and apathy seem to win every single day. Instead of love and light, all I see is grey. I feel like we are standing on a precipice ready to nose dive with our designer babies off into oblivion.
Ecosystems are complex systems, as are economies. I don’t necessarily believe in a twelve year timeline where Mommy still gets to take little Johnny to little league baseball and we continue to a live in a fiercely consumptive society while sticking our heads in the sand to the events around us. That scenario seems batshit crazy to a person who plans for the worst outcome, hopes for the best, predicts based on experience but then waits to see how things will unfold. Not a popular way of viewing the world. Why aren’t we planning like there truly is an environmental crisis right now? Why the debate? I just finished reading this and it brought back a lot of frustration with our current administration’s view on climate change.
Anger: The superpower environmentalists have been waiting for
After I read it, I proceeded to kiss my daughter and help her with her math homework. I then got irritated wondering if I should be teaching her survival skills instead. Both of my children participated in the Student strike a few months back. I made them watch several of Greta’s speeches on YouTube and watched my son’s eyes well with tears. It’s very difficult to strike a balance between too much information, bordering on indoctrination and having them think critically and independently. Do I scare the shit out of them with reality? Facts and figures about the world they may face? Arm them to the hilt with the skill set necessary for survival? Go along with the surrealism of year end school parties, mini graduations and the consumer industrial complex that it feeds? (I’m very fortunate to live in a fantastic school district and have been humbled by the dedication of many teachers). Seriously though, I’m starting to feel like a piece of shit for using a straw.
I love reading to learn, but sometimes the contradictions are exhausting and I unplug. The level of discourse available on Medium is phenomenal. I can look up just about any topic and find a well thought out piece complete with opposing viewpoints and sound reasoning. I’m having a lot of trouble translating that in to real world solutions. An educated informed citizenry makes a driving force for real change. Liberal, Conservative, Libertarian etc…Who cares if your children have no future?
There is always that tiny voice. A nagging moral obligation to all the families I care deeply about and all the children who make me laugh. How does a mother offer hope and instill a fighting spirit to her own emotionally sensitive children? Not a clue. I want to believe with an intensity that I’m unable to express, that we can right this ship. We, being nations across the globe. Before we pit ourselves against each other vying for resources and fight over Antarctica and space as our next territorial exploits. Don’t shit where you eat seems like really sound advice. I want to believe we can find a solution for the Great Pacific Garbage patch, or there is sanity in a whale dying after swallowing eighty plastics bags. That environmental refugees won’t become our new normal. An ad with a woman standing in a bikini wearing sunscreen SPF 250 and a pollution mask with the caption “Climate change is the new 30”, comes to mind. Will we really allow this for our children? That as a nation, we aren’t fighting all of this and for reproductive rights on top of that.
I have full faith in human ingenuity, have been fortunate enough to see boundless compassion and been in utter awe of the human mind and its ability to adapt. The other side of that coin is that human frailty, greed and hubris have proven me wrong many times. History bears witness.
Why is the idea of a living breathing interconnected planet so difficult to sell? Why do human beings need to be on top of the food chain? If I managed my household like most countries managed their economies or the planet I’m sure I’d be bankrupt many times over. Long term planning and not gambling for profit leads to one being fiscally conservative. I’m cautious in all aspects of my life. Except perhaps sports. Small gains are important building blocks to long term success. In my eyes, resources are an economic necessity. If we don't use them judiciously we fail in our obligations to each other and most importantly, our children.
“In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.” The Constitution of the Iroquois Nation
Most of us, myself included (I’m really fucking working on it) will do what suits us best in the moment. I’m not sure if we are even thinking or planning beyond this generation. That feeling leaves me a little queasy. Like a compulsive liar and dedicated thief, robbing my own children. I do not just want Fridays for the Future. I want every single moment, to be a collaboration of people of who recognize this pivotal time in history. More than anything I want to say to my kids, “I fought with all I had in me for you”. That we all did.
“You only talk about moving forward with the same bad ideas that got us into this mess, even when the only sensible thing to do is pull the emergency brake.” — Greta Thunberg
For the love of God, let us pull the brake.
Cookies make everything better. This is my favorite cookie recipe. Women like me don’t give these things out freely. It’s an act of pure altruism. Bake responsibly.
https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/chocolate-dipped-toffee-shortbread/
