Northern Vista: Thoughts from the Northcountry

1. Replacing mysticism with the imitation of mysticism

The family and I visited a (gasp) non-Lutheran church yesterday. The service was relaxed, the message was good, and the atmosphere seemed generally positive. However, there were a couple of things that really bothered me. First, as we were singing the contemporary songs – many of which I have sung or played at youth events – I realized something: The words and melodies of these songs are all appealing to a vague sense of mysticism. The longing voice in which they are sung, the stirring melody, and the crescendo at the refrain all work together , ideally, give the listener/singer an intense feeling of “I’m being religious now.

It’s not that I think music is bad, or that compelling music does not have its place in one’s life of faith. Every religious tradition uses music as a way of connecting with the divine. What bothers me is that the stimulus to “be religious,” or have a mystical encounter, is external instead of internal. It’s the same dynamic that is in work in much of our consumer lives. The idea is that as we sit passively, some external stimuli will come to us, we will consume it, and that stimuli will, in turn, make us feel a certain way.

In simpler terms, these songs replace a real mystic experience with a vague sense of mysticism. We repeat rousing anthems instead of creating them. We recite prayers instead of praying them. We read about men and women of faith instead of being them.

And that’s my real problem. Institutional Christianity is often about consuming instead of creating. We’re passive recipients instead of active agents. And everyone seems to think that this is ok.

Go to the mountains and the desert!

Leave behind dusty sanctuaries and quiet coughs!

Go to the caves and wastelands of the world and of your mind!

Burn your devotional books, your fill-in-the-blank Bible studiesyou’re your inspirational DVD’s. (It may be best to burn the whole building)

Sing soul-songs in the dark and shout wordless prayers!

Wrestle with God every time he comes around and learn how to pounce!

Travel bitter paths and bring back manna!

Speak deeply with your fellow pilgrims, and worry not about your empty stomachs.

THERE YOU WILL FIND GOD.

My reservations about climate change...

As protesters and politicians alike conclude their gathering in Copenhagen for what many are calling a "groundbreaking summit," I thought it only appropriate to explain my reservations about the global warming debate. First off, I'm not one of those crazies who don't believe in global warming or don't think that we are affecting climate change. I object to much of the climate change argument for other reasons that I want to outline here:

Symptoms and cures

First, I firmly believe that by focusing specifically on climate change and CO2 emissions, we are focusing on the symptom and not the disease. It's like only treating a brain cancer patient for headaches. It's not that CO2 emissions are not potentially concerning, but within the debate we often forget that it is our actions that create CO2. Much of the debate had been scientific in nature, looking at how many tons of carbon dioxide we put into the atmosphere and the technology we need to develop to reduce our CO2 emmisions. What we often fail to realize is that the CO2 is simply a symbol of a very specific (and often destructive) lifestyle. We drive everywhere and have created our entire national infrastructure on the assumption of cheap fuel and massive mobility. We throw away, waste, and consume on a staggering and immoral scale. We pave everything. We expect strawberries in January from a world away. We export our cultural priorities abroad, asking the developing world to emulate our own consumption habits in order to create more global demand. These are the issues that need to addressed. If we concern ourselves with these problems, climate change will solve itself.

Additionally, we are falling into the classic "fallacy of technology." Many people believe that we can innovate our way out of climate change. The assumption is that, with enough solar panels, wind turbines, and electric cars, we can continue to consume to our heart's content; our consumption will just be "greener." We have collectively forgotten that the answers to our problems may lie in the past -- not just in the future. And ultimately, We will eventually learn that faith in technology is faith in an idol.

Hubris of man and global change

To a certain extent, what bothers me most about the climate change debate is the hubris that is brought to the debate. While it is very possible that 100 years of burning fossil fuels has contributed to climate change, the idea that we as humanity can arrest that change through our own "awesomeness," or that we can single-handedly destroy the planet with our emissions, are some fairly dramatic assertions. First, the environmentalists who are so passionate about climate change have forgotten about another environmental-social issue: peak oil. While there is no consensus about when "peak oil" will occur, it either has happened or will happen. As oil becomes more scarce, prices will rise and demand will go down. Our emissions will decrease, if only because of the simple laws of supply and demand.
Additionally, research from both sides of the climate change argument have found that plants grow better when there is more carbon dioxide in the air. Those seeking to slow climate change argue that this will mean terrible allergies as plants such as ragweed create more pollen and seeds. People denying climate change point to data that says all manner of plants thrive with higher CO2 levels. Frankly, I'm excited to see what this means for my vegetable garden. More seriously, though, if we concern ourselves with how many acres we pave, instead of how many electric cars we put on the road, we just might make more of a difference. Once again, we tend to ignore the real social issues we need to address.

Finally, the climate change debate has taken our natural fear of change, and projected it onto the ultimate global level. As humans, we naturally fear change. The idea of Shismaref falling into the ocean concerns us and appeals to our natural human pathos. But things change. I'm reminded of this every time I look at the mountains. Dramatic changes in tectonic plates and glacial movement created what I see all around me. Our planet changes, and that's ok. To think that we can somehow keep the planet the same, because we are afraid of change, seems a little silly.

Of course, this is not to say that we should not have empathy for the people affected by rising sea levels. We should. But it should be part of a broader social discourse on our lifestyles and our future as the human race.

A power grab?
Finally, I cannot address any social issue as large as climate change without considering how it affects the distribution of power both locally and globally. I don't think that there is some sort of grand conspiracy afoot by industry and government. However, I do think that power always seeks more power, and that many different people serve to gain by mass global panic about climate change.

I can think of two recent examples of this sort of thing:
The "cash for clunkers" program did two very important things for the economy: it bolstered the bottom line of auto manufacterers and it created an incentive for us to consume more. Under the guise of more "fuel effecient vehicles" the government and industry, in a beautifully orchestrated ploy, successfully sold tens of thousands of vehicles. While I'm not against fuel efficient vehicles, what really bothers my is that dealerships were required to destroy the "clunker" vehicles. Thousands upon thousands of perfectly good vehicles were sent to the scrap yard under a government program. This essentially means that the federal government has increasingly sought to intentionally manipulate consumer behavior. (In all honesty, the gov't has been doing this for a long time. Think farm subsidies.)

The second example is the US commitment to setting up a fund of $100 billion dollars to help developing countries cut their CO2 emmisions. Mind you, this proposal calls for $100 billion a year to be contributed to these nations. With my poor math skills (and assuming there's about 7 billion people on the planet) that comes to over $14 dollars for every man woman, and child in the world. How many mosquito nets, how many vaccines, how many cooperative purchases could be made with the same amount of money? How many local initiatives could be funded with this money?

Now I'll grant you, some of this money will go to substantially helping people in the third world. But the question remains: Who will get paid to do the helping? The answer will likely involve many Western contractors and organizations. In this sense, the noble proposal to create this fund will likely be another means of serving our own interests and stimulating our own economy through federal and international government funds.

In Conclusion:

All of the above arguments make me very, very wary of the climate change discussion. Frankly, I think our national dialogue ought to be directed elsewhere. There are many, many more issues that are more deserving and will likely affect emissions and CO2 levels for the better. It's time to stop fretting over the symptoms, and it's time to start curing the causes.

A few interesting links

While I have neither had the time nor the inspiration to write anything original, I have been coming across a number of interesting links:

Transition Culture:
This website documents the "Transition" movement: the idea that our society will need to power-down and simplify (either soon while we have the luxury, or later when it becomes a necessity). They produced a documentary called "In Transition" which highlights the transition movement and the positive things that are happening in the world to make society more sustainable and more community-oriented. For the all the belly-aching I do about our destructive society, it's probably more productive to look for positive answers.
The link: (hopefully the video is still there) http://transitionculture.org/2009/12/09/in-transition-now-available-to-view-in-full-online/

The Whig Party:
Slate magazine had an interesting article on the Whig party, a resurrection of the large political party from the 1800's that suggests Americans are interested in a new and major third political party.
The link: http://www.slate.com/id/2238557/

"My climate change action plan":
An amusing blog by someone frustrated with the Copenhagen talks.
The link: http://ourtomorrow.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-climate-change-action-plan.html

Heal thyself:
An interesting report I read about plant growth and increased C02 levels. Some very good research seems to be compiled here. My thoughts on climate change are getting very cynical (a post on that later).
The link: http://www.oism.org/pproject/s33p36.htm#Message5982

Trap Line

Clumsy feet, often tripping

over roots and stones

reveal the fact that I have become

unfamiliar with this mountainside

since March, when I last traveled

these wandering trails.

Then, the snow was beginning to sag

in the almost-warm sun

and the fox tracks simply meant

another summer of life.

I had wished him well

until November.

Following the game trail

(now clear since the leaves have fallen)

I rest at the rock outcropping.

Below, the mountain bowl

now undressed of its leaves

reveals a moose cow and two calves

aware of me long before I am aware of them.

“Who is the perceptor, and who is the perceived?”

I am aware of the sentience of the landscape.

I am always surprised to see the trees

healthy and strong, blown down

by an autumn windstorm –

strong and young trees

the victim of a fully indifferent violence,

yellow wood that looks like raw skin

on the forest floor.

And this year, alongside the trail,

is a tree, felled by an ax,

the victim, no doubt, of a group of boys

who had stolen their father's ax.

The tree's only fault: it's diameter

was small enough to submit

to the ambitions of a ten-year-old.

All this, before tomorrow, and the season's first snow.

We the youthful sinewy races

I've been student teaching in a local high school lately, and many thoughts have crossed my mind. When I think of high school, I think of young people in the prime of their blooming, with ruddy faces and energetic eyes. But after spending a couple of weeks at the high school, my visions of youth have been shattered. Many of the underclassmen students seem pasty, passive, and...dumpy. They walk around in atrophied bodies, already growing stiff from hours in front of glowing screens. The upperclassmen seem haggard and jaded. Some look like they're in their thirties. One senior in one of the classes captured this feeling far better than I could. We were discussing the ASSETS program, and turning to one of his classmates in all seriousness, the student asked, “What does 'optimism about the future' mean?”

Why do our youth seem so passive, so old? I can't help but believe that we've succeeded in destroying much of their youthful vigor. As adults, we model a sedentary, boring existence. We praise them for sitting passively in school seats for eight hours a day. We value students who live quiet, passive, studious existences. But we don't value the sometimes-uncontainable energy, the optimism, the bravery, and the impatience of youth. Instead, we encourage them to funnel all of that energy into an Xbox. We dismiss everyone younger than 30 as being a “young person” and thus unreliable in their view of the world.

I don't think that we've done this through any intentional malevolence on our part. We simply commit small acts of negligence every day. Our acquiescence becomes a crime.
So what is the answer? I don't necessarily have one. But I think the first step must be to model for our young people a life lived well – full of energy, compassion, good work, and adventure. Second, we in the “adult world” must determine what cultural knowledge and priorities we want to teach our young people (more on this later). If we do not, we commit crimes of negligence.

Finally, the first few stanza's of Whitman's Pioneers, O Pioneers:

COME my tan-faced children,
Follow well in order, get your weapons ready,
Have you your pistols? have you your sharp-edged axes?
Pioneers! O pioneers!
For we cannot tarry here,
We must march my darlings, we must bear the brunt of danger,
We the youthful sinewy races, all the rest on us depend,
Pioneers! O pioneers!
O you youths, Western youths,
So impatient, full of action, full of manly pride and friendship,
Plain I see you Western youths, see you tramping with the foremost,
Pioneers! O pioneers!
Have the elder races halted?
Do they droop and end their lesson, wearied over there beyond the
seas?
We take up the task eternal, and the burden and the lesson,
Pioneers! O pioneers!
All the past we leave behind,
We debouch upon a newer mightier world, varied world,
Fresh and strong the world we seize, world of labor and the march,
Pioneers! O pioneers!
We detachments steady throwing,
Down the edges, through the passes, up the mountains steep,
Conquering, holding, daring, venturing as we go the unknown ways,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

Soap

Just a FYI to my millions and millions of readers: If you're looking for special "Johnson family", hand-made soap for Christmas gifts, let us know. (Soap takes a month to cure, so we need to start making our batches soon.) We can even make up some custom labels. We just made a batch of vanilla-patchouli-lavendar soap that is out of this world! Give me a shout if you want more details: johnson_erik@hotmail.com

Check out this article.

Check out this article. This is THE reason why we need either drastic food policy reform, or to create a healthy black market for local meat and food products.