Economy, Ecology, Community, Faith

There are four main areas of concern that I write about and act upon. These are the areas of our lives that I feel we need to integrate, for ourselves, for our communities, for our nation, and for our planet. I haven't written much over the last month. I've been busy living life and working toward that integration through getting more involved in my community and my faith. By participating in our transition committee, our community center building committee local art show, a craft fair, and our holiday celebration. I have also been taking stock of the the economic and ecological choices that I make on a daily basis. 

I saw a cartoon recently that showed three cans labeled "trash", "recycle", and "pretend to recycle". This really got me to thinking. There are some packages that we put in the recycling at our house because we believe that they should be recycled and recyclable. Unfortunately we have found from talking to the employees at our local transfer station that many of these packaging materials are not actually recyclable at this time. So for the last week I have been putting those packaging materials into the trash and paying attention to how much our trash is increased. It wasn't an excessive amount, but it was enough to give me pause and to remind me that there are at least 5 Rs to saving our planet (not just three) and the first of these is refuse. Refuse to purchase products that are packaged in packaging that is not recyclable. In fact, why purchase products in packaging? It is far healthier for us, for our environment and for our economy even, in the long run, if we purchase our foods in the packages nature provided them with, their own skin. We should be eating far more fruits and vegetables and far less processed foods and meats. And as important as this, we should be purchasing our food, as much as possible, directly from the people who are producing it. 

This evening I watched a film that spoke to many of these areas of concern, surrounding our freedoms, the production of our food, our communities, our faiths, and our consumer culture and behavior. I can't say that I agree with every word in this film, but I will say that it definitely gives a great deal of food for thought.  I'll share the link below and I hope that you will take the time to watch it and really give some thought to the concepts that are brought forward. I hope you will also give some thought to how integrating the concepts of economy, ecology, community and faith within our lives can help us to regain a sense of balance and security that has been lacking in American society for at least a quarter of a century and probably more. I feel that over compartmentalizing our lives is part of what has lead to the disconnection of individuals from their communities and also the breakdown of our moral and ethical principals.  I think it is this compartmentalization that has lead to the breaking down of society and the increased willingness of people to support more and more antisocial governmental policies: unprecedented exploitation of natural resources within public lands, unilateral military action against the citizens of our own country without due process, and unfettered interference into the affairs of other nations in direct contravention of international law. 

Here is the link to the movie Ethos. I hope you will find it illuminating.