deactivating activism

genkaku

Passed along in email today, for those who haven't read it already, was this long-ish NYTimes Magazine piece that offers a different perspective on the various kinds (ecological, economic, etc.) of activism that dot the landscape today.

FWIW

vinlyn

Ironically, to some extent, the more people have become involved in various causes and politics in general, the more polarized the country has become, and I'm not at all sure things have gotten better.

genkaku

@vinlyn -- I was watching Bill Moyers interview Paul Krugman the other night. The two of them were circling the latest word-du-jour, oligarchy, like a couple of intelligent buzzards. What was interesting was the point at which Moyers asked Krugman if he saw any silver lining in the economically-disparate and increasingly authoritarian times we live in. Krugman, who is a pretty smart fellow, seemed hard pressed to come up with a light at the end of our tunnel. He too pointed to the polarization that makes trust so difficult.

vinlyn

Something that has interested me is that as the political process has become more and more open, I think the candidates for president have tended to be worse than when more was decided in smoke filled rooms.

person

In many ways the future does look bleak to me, the future has also looked bleak to most every other generation and we are still standing though. So who knows if society will make it through the next century or not, who knows if I'll make through the next day or not.

Thinking about the end of civilization seems similar to the practice of contemplating death. The end result of both is a greater focus on today.

I just do my best and either I'll live and things will be fine or I'll struggle or I'll die and that will be it or I'll be born again and my karma will be good.