Why Care? / Wedding

Why do I even care about sustainability? C'mon Kevin, be honest with yourself.

First, I have to say that I am sick of the word "sustainability". Partly, because I don't know that I really care about true "sustainability". I don't care if the human race wipes itself out in the future. What I do care about is what life will be like before we put ourselves out of our misery (which there will certainly be much of before humanity drives itself to extinction ). I guess what I care about is not so much "sustainability", as human quality of life. I care about it for me, and I care about it for my kids (assuming I ever have any). Oddly enough, I also care about it for people I don't even know. Although, I must admit that it has taken me many years to be able to empathize even the tiniest amount with them.

I am hesitant to even admit that I care about other people because it somehow seems cheesy, as if I am declaring that I am some kind of ultra-moral saint. But it is nothing like that. Instead, I think it is:

1. An involuntary product of my upbringing and faith. Although I realize that not all Christians have such a sense of responsibility to *everyone* on the world, I think that the root of my feeling now is my interpretation of what I was taught. Likewise, although my parents never told me explicitly to care about how the people who make my shoes are treated, they somehow instilled in me a sense of caring for other people, and I have translated that to mean *all* people.

2. Totally selfish. We are all connected. Everything on earth is connected. What we do today has far ranging effects on everyone's life, and our unborn children's life. If what I do negatively effects other people, that negativity will inevitably come back to harm me, or my children. It is a very abstract thing to say here, but I would welcome any challenges to this way of thinking. It is always helpful to try to connect the dots between what we do, how it effects others, and then how that effects us right back.

So, if what I care about is people, why the obsession with environmental "sustainability"? To tell the truth, I had never really thought about it, it just seemed "right" ( intuition? Instinct? ). If I do think about it though, I think it becomes relatively obvious. We all depend on the earth's resources, and are all influenced greatly by our environment. If someone's needs for resources or a healthy environment are not met, it will, in the long run, effect me and my children. Perhaps I have enough money to stave off the most obvious negative effects, but as things get worse, who can say with certainty that their children will be so lucky? Then of course, there is the fact that having the money to stave off the obvious negative effects actually puts us at risk if we are not careful. The ease with which I am able to go to the store and buy a slab of mackerel is the same thing that drives our irresponsible use of mercury in other products. That mercury ends up in the mackerel that I eat, and I put my health at risk.

So, in this sense, sustainability is not about "saving the world" or making sure that the human race can live forever. It is all about creating a healthy, safe, enjoyable world for me, my family, my friends, and my future children. The main goal is not to make the system sustainable, but rather, not to break the system. Sustainability is just a secondary benefit of not breaking the system.

Being totally honest with myself though, I have to admit that this is not the only reason that I am here, studying "how not to break the system" ( sustainability ).

I am also here because everyone wants a cause. I want to feel that my life is worth something. I want my life to have some meaning. Working on a web-site for a client whose practices I don't agree with does not do much to give me satisfaction in that area. Although what I am doing has "value" to them, it has not value to me. I need something that I values as well. And working to better the world, instead of better my financial status so that I can protect myself from the very damage I am working to promote, does not really have that appeal.

In this respect, I think that the whole sustainability thing is very much like a religion. It is something that gives us purpose. I used to feel uncomfortable about sustainability as a religion, thinking that that somehow weakened the whole argument for creating a better world. But thinking about it logically, I can really see no fault in it. Perhaps it is not giving me purpose so much as it is the most logical purpose I could find. I have no appologies about the fact that I feel more fulfilled working toward something I believe in as opposed to something I believe is harmful, regardless od how "religous" it may be.

So, I have written this in one sitting. I have not re-read it. I have not thought about it in it's entirety. This post is really the first time I have put all these thoughts together. I will most assuredly change my views somewhat, but for now...

In other news, some of the wedding photos from France are finally done (there are more to come). I feel a little bad that there is an obvious bias toward the brides side of the guest list. If you are one of the French folks looking for your photo, please note that I did not leave you out because of your French heritage and what my president tells me I should think about that. It's just an unconcious bias towards people I already knew. Please note that there are three sizes. If you click on the small thumbnail, a medium sized photo will appear. If you click on the medium sized photo, a larger sized photo will appear. If you want a full sized (bigger than your screen) photo, or you want to print it, please let me know. I will send you the high-quality version.