There is a lot of evil in the world. People breed hate instead of respect constantly. We don’t take care of what we have, and I am guilty of that as much as anyone.
But I know when I’m not pulling my weight.
Others proclaim they are above taking personal responsibility for global problems. For example, “Oil companies are evil.” Sure, we may not all agree with Big Oil, and BP is making it worse, but if you’re still pumping gas to fill your car, shut up.
The excuse that we have to participate in “necessary evils” is bunk. In reality, it’s laziness. Large numbers of people protest our dependence on oil, and yet I imagine very few live oil-free (or as close to that as you can get).
After living here in MN, I’ve gathered a new respect for the right way to find alternate solutions when you don’t agree. People bike here through the terrible winters, buy strictly co-op and organic food, and do any other number of things to reduce their carbon footprint. If someone here says, “Oil companies are evil,” that person probably hasn’t owned a car in years, if ever.
Then you hear the same proclamation from someone driving her soccer mom non-hybrid SUV, including the oil companies in some kind of Axis of Evil. If you’re still playing for team The Man, that proclamation officially makes you a hypocrite.
In fact, I don’t believe that there actually is anyone or institution we can consider “The Man.” We are a world of individuals who have the power to make change when we put our efforts behind it. Yes, the big problems out there like dependence on oil may require a lot of individuals continuing to conduct research and push for federal changes. It could be slow going.
But the best changes don’t always happen overnight.
Lots of work goes into creating the world around us. The message of those who are accomplishing change, however, gets diluted every time a hypocritical soccer mom puts an anti-oil bumper sticker on her SUV.
If you aren’t going to be contributing to a solution, get out of the way. Your inability to act on your words means you make it harder for the ones who can. You don’t need a Ph.D. in biotechnology or sustainability, but if you aren’t willing to do the little things to change, then stop with the proclamations.
Photo credit.
I understand how easy it is to say one thing while doing the other- how about those that are less fortunate than the average middle class?
A lower class family believes in education but needs their child to work to support the family- do we blame the family for not trying hard enough to make it? Do we blame the system for keeping our poor in poverty?
I wonder how our current system plays into things.
Patrick, it’s funny you bring up a lower-class family and education. Not that this is reality, but I was watching Friday Night Lights this weekend, and one of the girls has the potential to not only graduate high school, but go on to junior college or maybe even a four-year one. All she needs to do is get her grades up because she’s capable, and she’d be the first in her family. The guidance counselor talked to the girl’s mother, and the mother didn’t support the idea. She said her daughter couldn’t fill her head with impossibilities because it wasn’t going to happen. The daughter had to say (note actual quote), “Mom, I want to try, and as my mother, you should want me to try my best and succeed.”
So, when we don’t do something, using another excuse, is it because of actual limitations (like salary, location, vocation) or perceived ones (not good enough, not my problem, I’m not one of them)?
People, you DO have a vote.
Consumers have so much more power than people believe; you vote by choosing where to spend you money. If we all made the choice today to purchase locally grown, organic produce, big agriculture would lose its power. If we all made the choice to purchase electric cars and ride our bikes, suddenly big oil loses its clout.
Don’t sell yourselves short. We are in charge here, not them. Take a stand, and put your money where your values are.
.-= Rachel Messenger´s last blog ..Positivity, Neuroscience, and Kanye West =-.
Rachel, thanks for the enthusiasm! I can’t believe people don’t realize how much purchasing power can impact things. Perhaps it’s because we think about how the purchase act (like record sales of iPads) vs. the non-purchasing act (like boycotting BP).
Money and values can go together like you said. Thanks!
Great post and good comments too. I obviously agree that it is tough to take people seriously when their statements and actions seem so at odds with one another (i.e. Big Oil is evil, but don’t touch my Hummer or the infamous woman at the town hall meeting last year who was afraid the government/taxes were going to take over her life but she wasn’t even knowledgeable as to what her family’s income was from the previous year).
I will say though that it is a hard line to draw about how perfectly do you have to fit your actions to your beliefs before you are allowed to voice your beliefs? I think there needs to be regulation of these oil companies, but I do live and work in a city where riding a bike to work isn’t feasible so of course I use oil daily. I don’t drive an SUV but I also can’t afford a Hybrid. I use plastic containers … the list goes on and on.
I live in Houston and many of my friends work for oil companies and continually say that anyone who uses oil is partly to blame and can’t complain about BP but I don’t quite think that’s fair. You’re right that we need to put our efforts behind making changes, one of them being moving away from our reliance on oil, but in the meantime I feel that it is my right as a citizen to expect regulations to be in place (and disaster plans in place) to handle our system as it is currently as well, regardless of how much oil I may use.
To get away from oil – how about we talk meat? I’m a vegetarian. I do not want to put my purchasing power behind companies that treat their animals inhumanely in the raising and slaughter process. However, I believe that a meat eater and I have the same right to expect there to be regulations in place to require the humane treatment of animals and to protect the public from any disaster (i.e. disease outbreak) that could result from poor practices. Is that a fair thing to say?
So yes – putting efforts behind our words is important! And that means the small things and being careful about the message we are putting out there with our actions. But I also think it’s important to feel empowered to expect accountability from our businesses and systems in place to protect us even if we may not be perfect (or able to be as perfect in our actions as we may like) .
Ashley, love the comment! It’s practically a post. What I may have oversimplified myself is that while I’m guilty of doing what everyone else is doing, like you said, I then change how I approach my opinions. I take ownership of my role. And I think it’s totally fair to expect organizations to regulate practices. I always think to myself that as I move on in my career, I want to lead great businesses, but I don’t want to be great in business at the expense of what I believe in. It’s like the cheap labor issue, and that’s right here at home: the recession allowed companies to drop talent that had been around longer to bring someone in at a lower starting salary. I don’t want to participate in something like that.
Thanks for all your thoughts, really helpful!
My question for this post is this. Is a network of passionate bloggers simply adding to the hypocrisy or are they providing real effort in any meaningful way? Seems to me it might actually be more talk and less action.
.-= David´s last blog ..An Event Apart Minneapolis =-.
Emily, I really appreciate this “get real or shut up” post. And I totally get Ashley’s comment. I think there’s a bit of hypocrisy in all of us, but the key is to realize it, and do something about it (small action counts too)…or just simply “shut up” <<your words. LOL.
Thank you! I couldn’t agree with you more.