Brother Canary Brian Speaketh

Gulp

We interrupt our regularly scheduled broadcasting to hear from a guest Canary tonight. This is from Brother Brian, whom I met on the local Daniel Quinn discussion list (Atlanta Leavers). Of course I'm going to reprint this—Brother Brian says nice things about me. Would anyone else do that? Would W do that? Would my mom do that? Nope.


Okay, take it from here...


Your website is impressive, both interesting and enlightening, clear, concise and funny. I like it. Most importantly, your writing style is non-confrontational. You are able to portray your opinions as self evident facts, that you are amazed many people haven't considered or accepted. I like your quick guide to agree to reducing our footprint, it hits the big items that people can act on. This website will increase awareness of pressing environmental problems. Do you have much traffic on it? [Nope, just fellow bloggers and other Canaries, mostly] How long has it been up? [It keeps evolving as I keep growing in my walk - my first website went up exactly 8 years ago] Why did you choose the metaphor of yellow canary? [My last website on sustainability was too cut-and-dry. I decided I needed a metaphor. In April 2003 at a training class, an instructor said that we environmentalists are like yellow canaries — like the canaries that miners used to take down the mine shaft. We warn others of impending danger.]

This site probably works best for people that already see the dire global situation, to educate and inspire into action. [Correct - my outreach is for those young canaries just hatching out of the egg, and just waking up to what's REALLY going on in this world.] What do you think we can do for the vast majority who are brainwashed by culture and religion into denying a problem? [Most of what we are fighting is ignorance and denial. Open-mindedness is the antidote to the Hard Right mantra. Education is the poison to the 500-year-old establishment that is designed to benefit the privileged few.] Why don't most people think overpopulation and environmental destruction is a problem? [Because of a shocking and profound belief that technology or God will deliver us from all problems. But more realistically, I think it's a shocking laziness. People are just too lazy to care, they don't want to care, they forgot how to care. Instead, they immerse themselves in reality TV and sports, and just try to deny it all. People may feel the problem is too big for them. But in the area where I live, I think the biggest problem is that all that's going on in the world is a challenge to their religious beliefs. Both sides agree that we are in the final days, but one side thinks that God is going to do a rescue mission and the other side (those damn humanists) think it's up to us to save ourselves. There is a big moral divide here, man.]

Quinn shed light on this question, and it resonated deeply with me. That's why I haven't strayed too far from his ideas since I read Ishmael in 1998. It comes down to core beliefs that all "takers" share:

1) The world was made for man to tame and use.
2) Man is the pinnacle of creation, separate and superior to all other creation.
3) Our system of agriculture and civilization is the way humans were meant to live.
4) The earth is full of suffering and should be transcended, whether it is towards heaven or reincarnation to a higher being or nirvana.

I agree with Quinn that if these memes were dropped, then we would all stand a chance at survival, for humans and all other life forms. I think focusing on dispelling these cultural myths would be the most effective way to "save the earth", to encourage a cultural shift, and new Renaissance if you will. How can we do this? [I'm guessing that people won't wake up until their world is really falling apart and they are FORCED to deal with uncomfortable things, like the fallacy of their religion, culture, and way of life. It is no coincidence that the bloom of the Renaissance came on the heels of the Dark Ages. For all practical purposes, we are living in the Dark Ages now. Maybe not for the privileged few, but for most of humanity, for wildlife, and the environment, the current age we live in is a living hell. And it's going to get worse before it gets better.]


This is the point I'm at in my life. I've been sidetracked by sustainable solutions, reduce/reuse/recycle, environmental activism, etc. They help, but only appeal to those who care. While more and more people care, the number isn't increasing fast enough, and their resolve to make a change isn't deep enough. These bandages don't attack the core problem- how we view our place in the world. Any conversation in this area would be greatly appreciated, because I'm at a dead end. [I am optimistic because the things you mention, like recycling, are the first step in changing core values. Recycling is a great introductory function that brings people to a greater awareness. Remember that concepts like "little ol' me can impact the entire world, either good or bad" are entirely new to people. Folks are too busy singing in the choir or getting drunk at Hooters to really think about their role in the cosmos.]

Again, Brother Canary Brian -- thanks for sharing, and for caring.

The Yellow Canary

Just To Remind Me That I'm Not Crazy

Rosa Parks, 1913-2005

I have been so busy that I haven't had time to blog about the death of one of my greatest heros. Rosa Parks died quietly last Monday at a rest home. I share some of her quotes to remind myself that I'm not crazy — that there are others on this Earth who have and do feel the same way as I.

Quotes by Rosa Parks:

"I am leaving this legacy to all of you .. to bring peace, justice, equality, love, and a fulfillment of what our lives should be. Without vision, the people will perish, and without courage and inspiration, dreams will die—the dream of freedom and peace."

"Each person must live their life as a model for others."

"Our mistreatment was just not right, and I was tired of it. I kept thinking about my mother and my grandparents and how strong they were ... an opportunity was being given to me to do what I had asked of others."

=============

Dear Ms. Parks,

Thank you for teaching us about honor and dignity. Thank you for showing us the righteousness of standing up to a system that is corrupt and wrong. May we always remember the example you set. In the end, maybe we can make the world a little better, like you did.

Respectfully,

The Yellow Canary

Little Buds of Hope are Sprouting

Marching on to the next level.

This lifetime work to achieve peace and sustainability on the Planet is really difficult. In fact, I don't think I can get the job in my lifetime. But if all of us Canaries do what we can: we get the word out, educate others, do a lot of writing, a lot talking, and a lot of volunteer work, and eventually we help humanity take a big step forward.

Why do we do this? No doubt to give meaning to our lives. When we are working for an exciting goal or cause, life is very fulfilling. We have a purpose — a real purpose, not just some fabricated story. Saving the Earth is very exciting work. Everyday, I see new buds in the Sustainability Movement start to blossom. I get emails, I read articles, I hear people talking and see their work—it's exciting.

I've often thought about starting a nationwide sustainability umbrella group. In fact, I did start a sustainability group here in Georgia that is still functioning after seven years. But I'm thinking that an umbrella organization already exists through the Sierra Club and other large environmental groups—the infrastructure is already there and all of our goals are ultimately the same.

In fact, the Sierra Club has been working on new issues that are extremely exciting to me, most notably sustainable agriculture and the promotion of locally grown food. The idea is that it's impractical to spend gallons of fuel transporting food from all over the hemisphere just so you can have a "3,000-mile Caesar salad." Already the Club is supporting New Urbanism and sustainable communities as an alternative to the sprawl hell that is destroying our countryside.

So, yeah, maybe instead of starting a new group we can all operate within the framework of existing institutions. Gosh knows, these big organizations are cumbersome, bureaucratic creatures, but we are not perfect either, so what the heck.

Okay, I know this is a really boring post and it's my rants that everyone enjoys reading. Sorry, but sometimes I just have to get my thoughts out so that I can use them as a reference point for climbing to the next step.

See, I am determined to save the world. I an not striving for utopia — only a peaceful and nature-respecting society that lives a little slower and that focuses more on spiritual values rather than materialism. The rightist American religions really have nothing to do with spirituality, and have everything to do with promoting the so-called American lifestyle, American "values", and all the other pack of lies that have NOTHING to do with Christianity.

Enough for now. The Canary must rest.

Yellow Canary

Murder

Wow, my mom's best friend's husband was murdered yesterday. This is the first time in my life I've ever known anyone who was murdered. Apparently, he walked in on a burglary of his home. As he tried to flee to his truck, he was shot three times in the back — by his own gun!!!

So, let us remember the following sayings, which are promoted by those violence-loving good, moral people of America:

"Guns don't kill people, people do."

"If we outlaw guns, only outlaws will own guns."

If you own a gun, be prepared to use it. If you own a gun, be prepared to die by it.

That's all for tonight, boys and girls.

The Yellow Canary

Rantings of a Mad Bird

I Do Not Want This War ....

I really don't want to take part in a Left-Right culture war. I really don't want to take on the pseudo Christian Establishment. This is not my war. I really don't want to take on anyone. Actually, I'd prefer to just crawl into a little hole and sleep.



But what I must take on is the massive ignorance, blatant hypocrisy, and corruption of this World. I mean, come on, the Bible provides a great roadmap for living, but few people actually follow it. Or they selectively follow it. Actually, people use it for self-gain, or to just beat their ideological opponents over the head. It's really all a game.

I recently read several articles that link Hurricane Katrina to Global Climate Change. What an irony: every time you get into your car to go to a Sierra Club meeting or to church, you are contributing to the crime. This week I've read articles and watched TV documentaries on the effect of Climate Change on the Arctic. For the people who live up there, Climate Change is already happening and affecting their lives. It is a warning for things to come.

And YES, it is human-caused and not part of a long-term cycle (as the industrialists would have you believe). It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that the millions of tons of emissions we put into the sky each week are going to have SOME impact on the Earth.

Ms. Bradberry: One volcano puts more pollution the air than all of industrialized society combined. And in the 1970s they were predicting that all the pollution would keep the sun from getting in and we'd have another ice age.

Well, I don't know about the volcano thing, but I CAN say that scientist know a lot more now than they did 30 years ago, and it is becoming an accepted fact that Global Warming is anthropogenic.

When Global Climate worsens, it will be the poor that is impacted most. We are already seeing that from Hurricane Katrina. Those in Bangledesh, a nation at or below sea level, will soon see it too. The poor live in flood plains, on the mountainsides, and in the most dangerous areas. The wealthy can adapt, they can move, they can buy more air conditions, but what about the poor.

Below is a favorite passage of Scripture, because it talks about humility. Oh, and then we are threatened with Hell. Truly, a religion of contradicting forces and cognitive dissonance.

Matthew 25:44-46 (RSV)

44. "Then they also will answer, `Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee?' 45. Then he will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.' 46. And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."


What kind of world are we leaving our little
children. Hell, I know that sounds cliche. And,
hell, I know that no one really cares.

Ten Minutes of Hope
I think maybe I should start with what hope is not. Hope is not saying or believing that everything is fine now. And it’s not a belief or a promise that every thing is going to be fine. Terrible things are going on now, and terrible things will be going on then. Hope is the belief that what we do matters, and that the world is wilder than our imaginations. And the despairing often go for sweeping statements as though if not everything is fine, then everything is doomed and ghastly. Despair is predicated on the idea that the future looks like whatever is most painful and worrying in the present. But if the past is anything to navigate by, it isn’t going to look that way at all. We don’t know what it will look like.
—Rebecca Solnit, author of “Hope in the Dark,” Sierra Summit 2005

Abortion Debate, Round 23

Abortion is Redrum!!! Yeah, something like that...

Well, now that President Bush is packing the Supreme Court with stealth judges, I'm sure the whole abortion debate will once again take center stage.

A good Canary sister in New Jersey sent me an article that throws yet another curve ball into the debate. For 25 years I've been hearing supporters of abortion say, "If you outlaw abortion, women will just turn to back-alley providers and coat hangers."

Oh, but now. This is 25 years later and things have gotten more high-tech. Women will just use a drug called misoprostol, which is normally used for ulcers but works pretty good for abortions. So, really, I'm sure that once abortion is outlawed, a whole cottage industry of high-tech gadgetry and drugs will pop up. The difficulty of getting an abortion will be about the same, whether it's illegal or not.

The Point Being ....

Abortion, along with gays, have become the favorite hot button to mobilize the foot soldiers of the Christian Reich. On every political campaign I've worked on, there's always someone who says, "Where does your candidate stand on abortion?" They ask this even if my candidate is running for city council or county commission — posts that have nothing to do with abortion decisions.

So, before you march off to the polls again to elect another corrupt pro-industry puppet, all in the name of "family values," please educate yourself and ask a few questions:

1) Who are these girls getting abortions?
2) Why are they getting abortions?
3) What is the number of abortions?
4) How can teen pregnancies be prevented?

The Christians blame everything on "the World" and say that morals began to crumble when God was taken out of the schools. But, at the risk of being simplistic, I would say that these are the root causes of abortion:

1) Millions of divorced and broken homes.
2) Parents, especially fathers, not spending enough time with their daughters.
3) Parents not educating their children about sex and its consequences.

Duh, call me stupid. Abortion is a symptom of very serious social problems in our dysfunctional country, and I believe that so many problems can be traced back to a family.


Ms. Bradberry: Abortion is murder. We have to throw all those girls in jail. We have to throw all those abortion doctors in jail. They are murderers.

I don't like abortions either, but I've sat back in amazement to see how crafty politicians have dangled this issue over the unquestioning masses and used it to totally manipulate people to obtain votes.

Here are some real solutions:

1) Fathers being good fathers.
2) Comprehensive sex education.
3) Chilling out our total-sex obsessed society. I mean, what's up with that?

Both the Left and Right are guilty of this great social plague called abortion. The Right only wishes to treat symptoms and use the issue for political posturing. The Left doesn't do enough to sit on Hollywood and the music industry, and TV, and all the other foul outlets of mind numbing humping. Go Tipper Gore! She's my hero!


Even if the court restricts or eliminates the right to an abortion, the often-raised specter of a return to back-alley abortions is not likely to be realized, said Dr. Beverly Winikoff, president of Gynuity Health Services, a nonprofit group that supports access to abortion. "The conditions that existed before 1973 were much different than what they are in 2005," she said. "We have better antibiotics now and better surgical treatments."

Belief & Ignorance

Canary: I wonder how much of our history has been covered up by willful ignorance? Maybe it's just easier to "believe" something than really research the facts. Or maybe we know what the facts are and we don't want to deal with them.

Ms. Bradberry: It doesn't matter to me. I know what I believe in my heart is true, and I have total peace.

Canary: Maybe it's just easier to follow your culture and believe the "status quo, politically correct" stuff, even if it can't be proven and makes no sense. And even if what you believe becomes the means to your world's end.

Ms. Bradberry: But don't you fret. God is in charge of the macro and everything is in His plan. We are just to tend to the micro. Same with evolution — there is only such thing as micro evolution, which God created to allow species to better adapt to their environment. But everything was ultimately created by God.

Canary: I'm not questioning you Ms. Bradberry. All I'm asking for is proof. If you're so right and so sure, why's that such a big problem? It's nice to have the feeling and say, "I believe, there is a big hand micro-managing everything that happens to me, and I'm going to live in a gold mansion when I die, so I'm covered." But what if people just use their belief as a security blanket. This is a problem because rather than address serious problems facing our world, they cuddle up with their blanket and suck their thumb.

Ms. Bradberry: You just have to have more faith. You have to get into the Word. You are talking like a reprobate, backslider, and scoffer. The more you get into the Word, the more you will see.

Canary: But what if all of this is designed to perpetuate an organization and belief system, rather than reveal factual truth. Why does God want his children to have blind faith? Those who saw supernatural events in the Bible had no need for faith. And what right does the Apostle Paul have to discuss faith if he had a supernatural experience? Maybe faith is a substitute for institutionalized ignorance. In fact, lately I've been thinking that that is all religion is: an excuse to be ignorant. Why can't we have the courage to simply say, "We don't know!" rather than presenting stories as fact and chastising and threatening those who disagree with our version?

Ms. Bradberry: Don't you believe in God, Canary?

Canary: Of course I do. I believe their is a supernatural element in the Universe. What I'm still trying to figure out is what parts of religion are human-made. I have a feeling that most of our religions simply evolved from earlier cultures and earlier thought processes. I have a hunch that religions evolve in thought, borrow ideas from one another, and continually reinvent themselves. But with the Big Three religions, the clock seemed to stop. People suddenly were able to put their religions down into detailed writings, and suddenly the evolving ended. The religion stopped adapting to the increasing knowledge of humankind, and we humans started evolving around the religion. This is a problem because our religious society is locked into a mindset that is 1,500 to 7,000 years old.

Ms. Bradberry: You're messed up, Canary.

Canary: Yeah, I know. I just see the conservative religions as a big roadblock to my ultimate goal — indefinite sustainability and perpetuation for the human species. I'm not sure I know even why I want this goal. I think it's because I know we are the one species capable of making it in the long haul, but we are in a precarious time right now in our development, and if we screw up big, it's all over. More realistically, if we have a nuke out or ruin the Planet environmentally, at least a few people will survive to start over again. They will have a head start on our society, but humans may have to go through this cycle several times before they finally "get it." We'll just have to wait and see. Right now fuel prices keep going up and the poor are hurting the worse. Our federal government has zero vision beyond lining the pockets of donors so that crooked politicians can get reelected. So, really, it's up to us to organize on the local and maybe state levels to save ourselves.

Ms. Bradberry: You shouldn't fret over this. God will come soon to take his children away, and then this Earth is going to burn, eventually. Stop trying to interfere with the plans of the Almighty.

Canary: Right, Ms. Bradberry. My apologies.

The Fish Tank

It's Elementary, Watson

My wife is a fish hobbyist, and we recently added a new fish to our saltwater tank. Well, that caused a LOT of problems because some of the other fish were picking on the new guy and snipping at his tail. In fact, those fish like to fight a lot!

So, Ms. Canary tried a trick that was suggested by the pet store folks. She and I removed all the coral pieces in the tank. AND GUESS WHAT? The fish stopped fighting. They didn't have any territory to defend, and they were suddenly all on an even keel.

This made me think, "Wow, what if humans removed all the stupid things that make us so territorial then we wouldn't have anything to fight about.


But Ms. Bradberry Sezs: Humans are SUPPOSED to be violent, it's been going on that way for years.

I don't think so. I mean, what if we got rid of all religion? What if we dumped political parties? What if we got rid of all the things that make us fight?

In fact, as of tonight, I think I'm going to dump all my labels. I'm not white, yuppie, lefty, back-slidden, radical, or anything. I am just ME. And I'm willing to accept you as just YOU.

I am willing to be civil, have an open mind, and hear other sides of the argument. The only problem, though, is if you come at me with ignorance, I'll go nutso. I will listen, but please back up what you are saying with evidence and proof. Don't just say "because I believe it" or "because Rush Limbaugh said it."

The Rock

I was watching on the History Channel (I'm addicted to it) where there is this holy place in Jerusalem that the Jews think is the site where God is going to come back and build his temple. The Muslims believe this same site is where Muhammad ascended to heaven (or something like that). So these two religions are fighting over the same spot of land, and they've been at it for centuries.

I dunno. I don't think humans inherently have to fight. We've just created all these barriers and walls between us, and then we go after each other and even kill each other in the name of whatever we happen to believe. It's wrong, man.

Introducing Ms. Bradberry...




Starting tonight, I'd like to introduce a new friend to help with my blogging. Her name is Ms. Bradberry — the name just totally, randomly popped into my head. She is your typical conservative, highly religious, quite uneducated, completely mainstream American. You got it — she's a personification of my mother. But that's okay. She has joined the Canary Blog Team to play the role of the Devil's Advocate. The arguments she makes are the same old arguments I hear everyday. They are the party line, programmed into her brain by the big institutions — corporations, religion, and government. See, Ms. Bradberry doesn't question. She's just a parrot — only repeating what she hears and what she has been taught. So, join me in welcoming Ms. Bradberry to the stage.

Oh, about her? She is 37, has three cute kids, and her husband is a deacon in the local country church. She is your typical yuppie mom and drives a massive SUV. Her husband is in middle management at a grading company.