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wilbjammin · 08-13-2004, 08:08 PM

It seems to me that there is an inherent problem with large populations in this topic. What does personal accountability mean when you are 1/300,000,000th of the population of your nation, or worse when looking at the entire world?

The radical alienation of the individual that has been developing since the industrial revolution began is a major factor (I'm not just speaking from a Marxist perspective - Marxism also supports viewing individuals abstractly as laborers). We are told to be afraid of everything, and that we're the safest we have ever been all of the time, and that we aren't safe, and that we're the strongest we've ever been, etc.

So, to add to Mantus's list, I'd like to consider adding something about the inability to make sense of a large, abstract world leading to intellectual and emotional disengagement.

I think it is perfectly reasonable for someone to live with the knowledge that their actions and inactions after the world in negative ways without it creating a profound sense of guilt and powerlessness. Instead, we can feel compassion, frustration, and have a strong desire to not let the situation get the best of us. The first step is a combination of developing the tools to being analytical while education one's self about the issues. The second step is educating others, and other conscious choices related to what is perceived as a problem.

I would also like to point out that we can recognize that the structure of society is limiting in our ability to do away with all of these negative things we deal with. So we can't fix everything at once... that's understandable, Rome wasn't built in a day. However, we can attempt to take steps towards fixing as much as we possibly can while still having a meaningful personal life. If I find that I need to purchase something at Wal-mart and I know that it is a terrible company that is wrecking havoc world-wide, I will not pretend that I don't know that or don't care. Like the way Native Americans from this part of the country pay tribute to the death of the fish that they had to kill to feed them, I will pay homage in my conscious mind to the sacrifices made to allow me to get whatever I need.

I understand that we live in a post-modern era of individualistic fatalism, it is easy to fall into. It can be combatted by removing the abstraction caused in looking at things from a macro-level and bringing back the issues to the individuals. Again, this is directly related to education and teaching the skills to view issues, and to encourage localism in this sense.

I find it troubling that so many are falling into this category of blind ignorance. It is partially a choice, but I think it is often dictated more by a lack of skill-training to help people understand and cope with these issues.

The lack of community is another problem. I think instead of having real interdependent community structures to help people feel included in something, our society has turned community structures into places to display personal status and vie for position on the hierarchy. Perhaps it has always been this way to some degree, but I think it is becoming increasingly difficult to find any sense of connection with others. The list of people that I feel I really connect with are very limited, and that isn't a coincidence.

Anyway, this is a rambling post, and I have too many ideas about this and not enough structure in my thoughts to lay things out very linearly. I'll stop here, and hopefully there will be some response.

08-13-2004, 08:08 PM	#17 (permalink)
wilbjammin * * *	It seems to me that there is an inherent problem with large populations in this topic. What does personal accountability mean when you are 1/300,000,000th of the population of your nation, or worse when looking at the entire world? The radical alienation of the individual that has been developing since the industrial revolution began is a major factor (I'm not just speaking from a Marxist perspective - Marxism also supports viewing individuals abstractly as laborers). We are told to be afraid of everything, and that we're the safest we have ever been all of the time, and that we aren't safe, and that we're the strongest we've ever been, etc. So, to add to Mantus's list, I'd like to consider adding something about the inability to make sense of a large, abstract world leading to intellectual and emotional disengagement. I think it is perfectly reasonable for someone to live with the knowledge that their actions and inactions after the world in negative ways without it creating a profound sense of guilt and powerlessness. Instead, we can feel compassion, frustration, and have a strong desire to not let the situation get the best of us. The first step is a combination of developing the tools to being analytical while education one's self about the issues. The second step is educating others, and other conscious choices related to what is perceived as a problem. I would also like to point out that we can recognize that the structure of society is limiting in our ability to do away with all of these negative things we deal with. So we can't fix everything at once... that's understandable, Rome wasn't built in a day. However, we can attempt to take steps towards fixing as much as we possibly can while still having a meaningful personal life. If I find that I need to purchase something at Wal-mart and I know that it is a terrible company that is wrecking havoc world-wide, I will not pretend that I don't know that or don't care. Like the way Native Americans from this part of the country pay tribute to the death of the fish that they had to kill to feed them, I will pay homage in my conscious mind to the sacrifices made to allow me to get whatever I need. I understand that we live in a post-modern era of individualistic fatalism, it is easy to fall into. It can be combatted by removing the abstraction caused in looking at things from a macro-level and bringing back the issues to the individuals. Again, this is directly related to education and teaching the skills to view issues, and to encourage localism in this sense. I find it troubling that so many are falling into this category of blind ignorance. It is partially a choice, but I think it is often dictated more by a lack of skill-training to help people understand and cope with these issues. The lack of community is another problem. I think instead of having real interdependent community structures to help people feel included in something, our society has turned community structures into places to display personal status and vie for position on the hierarchy. Perhaps it has always been this way to some degree, but I think it is becoming increasingly difficult to find any sense of connection with others. The list of people that I feel I really connect with are very limited, and that isn't a coincidence. Anyway, this is a rambling post, and I have too many ideas about this and not enough structure in my thoughts to lay things out very linearly. I'll stop here, and hopefully there will be some response. __________________ Innominate.