This has been such a rich and powerful class and I am so inspired by all of this material. I’ve also had several potent dreams that I think are related to this myth and apocalypse theme. I will post on one of those separately. My schedule has been much more demanding than I thought it would be the last few weeks so I regret that I’ve been tardy in posting reflections but I have been keeping up on them as well as with the wonderful webinars. I can hardly believe Friday will be the last one! Let’s have some more!! :-)
The zombie apocalypse article really clarified this modern myth for me- I am someone who is too sensitive to even watch hospital shows so all of this fascination with gore and horror has been beyond my comprehension for years. It makes total sense to me that this is a reflection of “our fear of the shadow side of unreflective technological progress.”
I am struck by this line here: “Questioning our dependency on what zombie institutes provide could take a first step toward breaking free of their clinging grasp…” Just today, Naomi Klein’s new book This could change everything: Capitalism vs the climate is out. She’s calling out the apocalyptic-causing zombie capitalism. Also I was struck by terrapsychology at play in the love for place she described in an interview she gave over at the Bill Moyers site where she was talking about interviewing activists:
“The best moments for me researching the book were just hanging out with people who really love where they live. I have a chapter in the book called Love and Water and I quote an activist named Alexis Bonogofsky in Billings, Montana. She’s a rancher and an environmental activist and she talks about taking on the coal companies and she says, “You know, the thing that Arch Coal doesn’t understand is that it’s not hate and anger that will save this place. Love will save this place.” And so often when I was in this transnational space called Blockadia, I felt that this is a genuinely positive movement. It’s a movement driven by people falling in love with where they live because they’re faced with the prospect of losing something as fundamental as clean water or clean air.”
Replies
Thanks for your inspiring post and story form Montana. I have super busy too and it's been hard to stay up with the posts, but like you I an really glued to the webinars.
Nice post. I saw a new Spider Man movie the other day and human technology and overreaching experimental research created a monster who sucked all the electricity out of NYC and almost destroyed it. The movie was terrible. All about the shadow side of the tech experimenting, as are all the spiderman stories and the Hulk, and all the scientists who make monsters or turn themselves into monsters, back to Frankenstein.
I may meet Naomi Klein on Saturday evening in NYC. I'm interested to read her book too. Much love.
To contemplate the zombie-fueled resources I consume is daunting: water, gasoline, electricity. My carbon footprint is large. Interestingly, when I purchased an airplane ticket the other day, I also was offered a carbon offset. According to United Airlines, for $14.28, I could offset 0.714 metric tons of carbon dioxide for my round-trip from San Francisco to Boston.
According to their website: Sustainable Travel International and its partners are focused on increasing energy efficiency, reducing waste, reducing deforestation, and replacing traditional sources of fuel used for energy including coal, oil and natural gas, with clean and renewable sources like wind and solar power. Carbon offsets help individuals or businesses compensate for greenhouse gas emissions through sponsorship of activities or projects that avoid release of or contribute to the absorption of carbon dioxide.
Is it really possible to compensate for my greenhouse gas emissions?
Don't be too hard on yourself. It's almost impossible to be a human and not have a carbon footprint. Do your best to mitigate and don't beat yourself up about your emissions. You are in the stream and it flows one way, you may resist, but until the current changes, swimming against it too much is not useful. Once we all swim against it enough, the current will change, but make sure to take care of yourself and your life. Hugs.