If I were appointed benevolent despot over the Western world in order to create a new and more perfect culture, here are the things I would keep: iPods. computers. coffee shops. books. airplanes. couches and knick-knacks. optometry. pots and pans. Now I am wondering, what would I get rid of? definitely weapons and governments. All the things that we can make on our own. Of course, we can make music on our own, but I like that I get to listen to so many different kinds of it and on an iPod. Mostly, I think I would change how we get our food and clothing and shelter. I wanna live in the woods is what I mean. But I love my heated house and sunroom and movies, I love all the things that are a part of my life. I want to know if they are destructive. The more relevant question is - am I willing to leave them behind? to live in the woods? I think I could, I think I could lead a completely different life that would be much better. It is a dumb game to try and prove that the things we have and love are evil or worse than something else. No, they are good and nice and convenient, of course, but there may be a more sustainable way that isn't all that bad.
But. Is it possible that this way could be sustainable? Our lives are built on industry, and industry is destruction of the earth. Here is what I want to do. I love pretty houses and moviesbooksmusic and fine foods and computers, and so I want to find a way to justify my way of life, I want to
believe that it's not actually destructive and murderous and precarious and so forth. Straighten out that cognitive dissonance. But I think that is lamo. I have never before changed my beliefs for convenience's sake, and I don't want to start now.
Could we have movies and houses without assuming that the earth is ours to dominate? Is that possible?
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