posted April 02, 2003 06:19 PM            

(btw, what is Gotterdammerung??)
--------------------------------------------
Premature Gotterdammerung

I have pondered long and sadly
what you said
about the certain, tragic future just ahead
for a waning planet, drenched in murkey, poisoned air
infected by polluted oceans, swollen with rancid refuse
nature's cool green velvet quilts
ripped and ruined

land laid waste and ravaged
bleeding form the rape of greedy gorging
stripped naked of it's nourishment
by blind and selfish plunder
haunted by the shrieks of murdered baby seals
and the ghosts of butchered leopards

soaked through with the stench of sure decay
the final gasp so near
it must be measured by the year
instead of by the century

and so, you say, you will not bring a child
into a world so soon to be expired

I've shuddered at the harsh statistics of despair
which could allow this sterile judgement
to find roots in such as you
whose tears reflect the memory of angels running free
through fields streaked yellow by the morning sun
whose ears still hear carols of their laughter

And, as always
I have rushed to walk beside you on your way to truth
to try to see it clearly through your eyes

You paint a picture of a lovely, pulsing ball
within our solar system
profanely debauched by amoral brutes
who have used it shamefully, for pleasure
and torn it's flesh
with repeated painful nuclear thrust
to father grotesque mutation

who have bruised its fragile beauty
leaving it to die
like a frail, emaciated body
pale and wan
while they lie drunk and babbling senseless songs
"Diddle Diddle Dumpling, My Son John"
going - going - very soon gone
slain in careless orgy
just before the dawn
of hell

And now I feel with you excruciating sorrow
and share your angry, urgent need
to halt this mad and ruthless blasphemy
that threatens man and beast and fish and fowl

We can, we shall, we must
pull back these lengthening shadows from our sun
and mobilize each outraged soul
to strike a furious blow for life
today
before tomorrow's lost in dust
Don't stop to count the cost in time or coin
when it may be too late
before another dozen springs of ours
or theirs
have passed

But wait-
listen to the soft, permissive sighing
as erotic lullabies of doom
crooned to lazy, silken melodies
are amplified through spinning, electronic disks
and whirls of flashing, colored lights

Look closely in the burning face of evil

Unholy masquerader-
who is that
who gazes back into our eyes
with smile so bright
his hair so fair and golden?

Who is that
who sits so tall behind the wheel
to press the gas
and vomit fumes of filth into already sick air?
Who dares to multiply himself into a hundred thousand devils
swinging in a frantic, frenzied dance of death
dumping trash in the streams of Michigan
to keep Ohio clean?

Burst a bag of shiny dreams
see how white the toothpaste gleams?
Break it, smash it, spit out cans, stain the sands

Who dares explode hydrogen hate
deep inside the bowels of earth
stirring sleeping giants
to stretch awake beneath the soil, unseen?

Who hides behind screaming banners of progress
bulldozing flowered meadows, slashing trees
clubbing wildlife, grabbing pasture, faster-faster
plaster billboards, spread cement
for countless millions of polished beetles
blasting down the midnight roads
groaning under loads of drugged and singing saints of sin?

Who dares excite the fire that lights the fuse
on the time bomb of a billion random seeds sprung from the sensual loins of lust
adding wanton procreation to destruction

Who is curious, yellow, for topless, bottomless, mindless sex?
Are not insane, lewd scenes of human violation
as much a crime
as those against her pure and spacious skies?
She, remember, also once a virgin
proud of purple mountain majesties
and amber waves of grain

Look fiercely in the face of evil
see how he wears a crown of crimson roses on his head
to greet the newly wed
and nearly dead
on their journey into nothing

How dare he imitate your blameless, honest features?
How dare he call with carefree voice to sound like mine?

Look hard into the glittering eyes of evil
be sure you see

his face is you - his face is me

belching blindly in the market place

Call the vile and vicious stranger in our midst
by his rightful name, with shame

for only then
will truth come crashing through the constellations
in time to turn the tide

and only then
can we make fresh clean winds blow once again
across the snowy mountain tops of this dying earth

and only then
deserve to hear his waiting, newborn cry
wrapped in the gentle blankets of our longing
and our love

--------------------------------------------

I think a primary root of war is the misguided perception that nature is there for mankind to exploit for his own devices. It is that mentality that has caused us to construct this society that uses up more resources than it can replace and until we stop that practice we are heading down a road that will lead to our destruction either at the hands of enviromental degradation or war.
I think Linda saw the same terrible vision for where we are headed...

posted April 02, 2003 06:25 PM              

Lets hope something interesting happens soon.

posted April 02, 2003 06:37 PM            

Some of the lines from Linda's poem makes me think she was an anti-capitalist...hhhmmm.

posted April 02, 2003 07:31 PM              

Of course, the point is only proven by how bloated secondary and tertiary industries are. I mean - i'm a CG animator. How pointless can one get in the grander scheme of things? lol

posted April 02, 2003 10:35 PM              

And I, sadly, must agree with both of you on the following:
An economic system based on the principal of infinite growth cannot be stable in a world of finite resources.
That's the bottom line, isn't it?

posted April 02, 2003 11:19 PM            

In the broadest sense, I'll reiterate 9 things I think need to be taken into account for a system to be sustainable.

• We must protect the viability of the life-sustaining systems of the planet, which are everywhere under attack.
  
• A realm of the sacred exists, of things too precious to be commodified, and must be respected.
  
• Communities must control their own resources and destinies.
  
• The rights and heritages of indigenous communities must be acknowledged and respected.
  
• Enterprises must be rooted in communities and be responsible to communities and to future generations.
  
• Opportunity for human beings to fulfill their dreams and aspirations should be open to all.
  
• Labor deserves just compensation, security, and dignity.
  
• The human community has a collective responsibility to assure the basic means of life, growth, and development for all it's members.
  
• Democracy means that all people have a voice in the decisions that affect them, including economic decisions.

(Concise wording courtesy of Starhawk )

Permaculture I believe holds many of the answers to our plight as well. Which is why I'm going off to get a certification in it at the end of the month! I'm soo excited. I'll be able to offer workshops and spread the knowledge that I believe holds the key to getting ourselves out of this mess.

Education Education Education is the answer!

posted April 03, 2003 12:29 AM              

Political power would be in the hands of working people. Nationalization of the main means of production - the plants, factories, agri-business farms and everything necessary to produce what society needs. The large monopoly corporations and banks come under public ownership, that is, under the collective ownership of the entire working class and people.

Public ownership of the energy industry and all the natural resources.

A government draws up plans covering the entire economy. They are drawn up with maximum participation of the people, from the shop level on up. Such plans are achieved because they harmonize the interests of all, because there are no conflicts arising from exploitation of workers and no dog-eat-dog competition.

Production increases much faster than under capitalism, with a planned economy, advancement of science and technology, and the protection and preservation of our environment and natural resources.

A government is based on all-around democracy, starting with economic democracy. The more people participate in running their own economy, the more firmly people's power is established, the more successful America will be.

Trade unions will insure a fair balance between what workers produce and what they receive. They will have decisive power to enforce safety and health provisions, prevent speedup, and guarantee good transportation, working conditions and plant facilities.

Public services and housing will be vastly improved and expanded.

The U.S. will become a vast construction site. Homes, schools, hospitals, places of recreation will be built to end shortages, replace substandard infrastructures and public facilities.

Full employment will be quickly achieved as production is expanded to satisfy the needs of people. Automation at the service of the working people will lead to both reduced hours of work and higher living standards, with no layoffs. There will be no danger of over-production since production will be planned and people's incomes will increase in line with the rising output of consumer goods and services.

Poverty will be ended quickly with the recovery of the vast resources now wasted in war production, corporate profits and the extravagent lifestyles of the filthy rich.

All education will be tuition-free. Every person will have access to unlimited medical and health care without charge. These rights will be realized as rapidly as facilities can be built and the personnel trained.

posted April 03, 2003 03:43 AM            

The US is too large an area for one government to preside over. Smaller autonomous communities that cooperate when need be.
Infastructures like the massive energy complex need a complete overhaul..much of it can simply be dismantled if the tenents of permaculture were implemented everywhere.

Everyone would have solar panels on their house or building that was designed to maximize passive solar energy and better insulated (straw bale is just one astounding, natural building material that is sustainable and efficient..far better than conventional building in most ways.).
We don't need to tear down old buildings either.. they can be very effectively retrofitted with natural building materials to better conserve energy and eliminate toxic runoff caused by all the toxic materials we build our homes out of currently.. (Which is a major danger to public health)

In fact, I don't really want to see any more sprawl, if it can be helped.. Redesigning urban areas using the tenets of permaculture would be my ideal.
Some things would really have to go..like more than half the streets in the country, atleast..the pavement is strangling the earth. Where the streets used to be there could be green growing things that heal the soil and yield food for communities. We need to eliminate this rediculous set up wherin the food we eat comes from hundreds of miles away! It makes no sense. It is extraordinarily wasteful. We have the means to grow much of our own food..even in urban settings.

I dream that.......

Where there was once pavement all around, now there is diverse, abundant greenery that feeds the people. Transportation consists of cable cars or someother elevated system. Since people grow a good amount of their own food, they don't have to commute to some distant job as much, if at all, anyway.

Amidst the fruit trees and gardens weaves paths that people walk upon or ride bicycles and maybe even the occasional horse. Manure is a blessing because every home has it's own advanced composting system that the house toilet is a part of. Which eliminates the need for a sewage infastructure.

Homes and propery are landscaped to maximize water harvesting techniques..there is little runoff and the water that does ends up in streams and rivers that run freely through the cities...homes have large, underground cisterns to catch excess water for storage..The water is clean because it travels through an intricate filtration process of leaves, mulch, and soil before reaching the streams.

Homes are cheap to build because in the more rural communities that still function to provide some large scale amounts of grains (though not to the extreme of today because much of the current demand no longer exists if everyone practices permaculture) have excess waste straw which is highly valued for it's building potential.....

People are happier and healthier because having their hands in the dirt regularly and the self-satisfaction that comes from growing one's own food has healed much of the previous era's mental and physical ailments. People are no longer bombarded by flashy images of objects that they don't need. When a person has a need of a service or product, there are directories or specific venues where buisnesses advertise such things...

( I think that all the advertising around us everywhere we go is a large contributing factor to depression and anxiety. It makes us feel like we are less somehow if we don't have something or look a certain way. It's like psychic pollution. Not to mention how I think it is used to distract people from things that really matter in the world)

......
I could go on but my hands begin to ache..

So, some of the principals of what you posted are allright but they fail to dig at the real changes that need to be made..namely the lifestyle of everyone on earth... especially in the more wealthy societies though. We need to lead the way, for sure. 20% of the human population consuming 80% of the resources just won't do any more.

That doesn't mean we need to live lives of scarcity though. This planet is abundance! There is more than enough to go around..it's just managed sooo poorly. I'm not saying I have all the answers (I'm not that arrogant ) but I do know that things need a radical change soon. I am reminded of a quote I just read for the first time...

"Yes, I am a dreamer. For a dreamer is one who can find his way by moonlight, and see the dawn before the rest of the world."
Oscar Wilde

Oh and the beautiful thing about permaculture is it's not really like conventional agriculture or gardening. It takes some careful observance and planning in the beginning but once the system is in place, all the factors function in harmony with one another in such a way as to minimize human energy input and maximize it's production of useful services and products in a way that not only is sustainable but it heals past damages!

I'll have much more to share on the matter when I return from the 2-week, hands-on intensive residential course in permaculture I'm attending at the end of April/beginning of May.

posted April 03, 2003 11:01 AM              

I got through the first bit, and I'll read the rest of the article when I'm not running off to class ( ), but one issue that initially pops-up (that may be addressed later on in the article):

posted April 03, 2003 11:28 AM              

some of you will enjoy it

http://www.weblife.org/humanure/default.html

posted April 03, 2003 12:08 PM              

- We agree there Harpyr, OMG, who would've figured it??? I too am hoping for the same, & this conflict is either going to make or break it for the world I bet

Capitalism - I agree in its original & shwredest(sp?) form it does nothing but exploit natural resources.

- But come on, humanity wasn't evolved enough yet, still isn't, to evolve as a race without a system like capitalism is quite difficult.

- I mean yes capitalism is based on infinite resources... BUT

It also promotes innovation, invention, & evolution of industry... so it has its merits too.

My own opinion is capitalism is the most successful form of growth for the world, (but I have not experienced any other, just basing my idea on the successful states of the world) as opposed to revolutionizing the world into socialism, communism, or co-op's whatever you want... Because who knows if that will succeed, I mean we don't Really know. Then we may have to start All over again with capitalism.

I Agree that the capitalism is flawed,
but if we could use our system to elect represenatives that will install programs/laws that offer incentives & restrictions that encourage industry to revolutionize to a non-polluting symbiotic-type relationship with the planet,
I BET the technology is already developed & waiting to be used, but it's being held back by patents right now!!! Once again we have to trick the companies into using these patented ideas by offering incentives/forcing restrictions on them
(I stole that idea from my Econ Professor)

I think we could achieve our goal without a global revolution, which may have adverse effects... I mean you never know???

Oh yeah, & one last thing I do disagree with Harpyr...

I question the ability of Every Common Man to make accurate judgments in regards to a national economy or even a local economy...

Personally I wouldn't even trust myself, I would rather locally elect someone who has expertise is in the economic affairs to make the decisions for me... because come on... the common man doesn't know sh*t about that kinda stuff unless he's had education & experience in that field...