Firstly, apologies for the long absence of useful content. And now, to business.
I've been rambling about this for a few weeks, and the responses I've gotten range from accusations of insanity, to quiet nodding, to the assertion that the idea that the sky is falling is universal. However, I still think it's valid, and I think it's worth exploring, if only because it partially explains a rapidly growing sector of consumer habit.
Everyone in my generation has at least an inkling that we are doomed. (Excuse the hyperbole.) Massive climate change, AIDS, cancer, the animals are dying, the plants are dying, the BEES are dying, and we are probably on a similar chopping block. We're the children of the apocalypse, and the only interesting part is that we're responding with apathy, empty gestures, and praising ideology over results.
I think it's important to now differentiate between the apathy of my generation, and the apathy of generation x. Instead of a response to lost values, commericalism, and easy affluence, it's indifference as the only rational response. Everyone is aware that things are getting messy. I don't mean to suggest that the world is actually ending. But at the very least, this way of life is going to be forced to change so rapidly I plan on losing my footing. And, I find in my experience, the result is a generation of people who are aware, but indifferent.
People are still doing things. The problems are too massive for anything less than a concerted effort by world governments to curb behaviours, but the 'every little bit helps' mentality is mixing with the important of at least addressing the understanding of the coming trials, and the desire for a solution. This is what is pushing consumer behaviour to active steps, like hybrids, carbon credits, buying organic and fairtrade. There is an effect to these choices, and I'm not downplaying the ideologies involved. I'm just saying, a step in the right direction still leaves miles to go before we sleep, and unilateral 'right action' isn't going to happen unless people stop seeing hellfire in the tomorrow. It's also driving the greenwashing trend. I find it hard to believe that everyone who buys a (RED) product or some other 'ethical' choice that may or may not translate into any direct result at all, is ignorant of what they are investing in. But, if the futility is always at the back of your mind, simply wearing or buying something that indicates an INTEREST in changing things for the better is a positive step. If what will actually result in change is a rising perception of public demand for better, more ethical, more sustainable business and government, then wearing the AIDS-fighting tshirt that is really a GAP promotional tool almost makes sense.
Frankly, I have and will continue to pay the extra for organic options, or fairtrade options, because I like what it stands for. At the same time, it feels like a kind of ideological greenwashing, as opposed to behavioural greenwashing. I'm doing the right things, my money is going in the right directions, but at the same time, it's meaningless on the grand scale of the problems I'm attempting to address.
I read somewhere recently (and welcome corrections if I'm wrong) than in the last 20 years, the average age for a depression diagnosis went from 30something to 14. 14 is interesting to me, because it's what I think of as the point of awareness for challenging accepted truths. 14 is when I dropped religion because I found it meaningless and insulting (for me, personally). 14 is the age where what reason tells you becomes more important than what hope tells you. It would make a lot of sense to me, today, if every 14 year old looked at tomorrow, and began to feel deeply depressed about their prospects and options.
So, to crib from the fantastic Children of Men, how do you deal with the idea that we are running out of tomorrows? You just don't think about it, at least not deeply or honestly. You buy your tshirt and your fairtrade organic green tea, and you hope voting with your persona changes things, at least a little.
