Opinion
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The Reality Settles In
I ‘m hearing it all over: the days are blending into one another. Every week is the same. My memory sucks. I feel anxious all the time. I’m depressed. I’m feeling it, too. Even though I still get to go to work every week (and yes, that feels like a privilege), I feel cooped up and like nothing ever happens except work. Work itself is incredibly stressful: the food bank has doubled throughput of food since March and everyone there is stretched just short of the point of breaking. The “adventure” phase of the pandemic has passed. No longer is this a project of pulling together and overcoming adversity. Now…
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GUEST POST: By Helping Your Community, You’re Helping the World
By Meredith Jones The world is a truly unforgiving place, which is why we all need to band together, look out for each other, and help one another. Of course, there are those who need more help than others, and it’s for their benefit that we’ve created this list. The fact is that we all have the responsibility to hold up those who may be finding themselves at the bottom — a courtesy that we’d want extended our way if roles were reversed. It’s not even anything heroic, but rather, just basic human decency. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at who we can help and how. The…
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Confessions of an Obligate Psychonaut
I’m a psychedelic survivor. No, wait. I said that incorrectly. I have survived because of psychedelics. There, that’s better. Now, people have varying opinions about this class of drug…and all drugs which are used by some for fun and recreation. This is a big subject, and I hope to unpack it, but let me disclose my bias at the outset: Illegal psychedelic drugs saved my life. True story. I’ll get into that in a minute. Settle in: it’s a long one. The backstory of all of this, of course is Calvinism: the deep, inchoate Protestant fear that someone, somewhere is having a good time. Pleasure phobia is deeply baked into…
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Because I Cannot Be Silent
“George Floyd! George Floyd! George Floyd! SAY HIS NAME!”Protesters in my city, June 2, 2020 There is nothing I can say that has not been said, more articulately and with more authority. There is nothing I can add that doesn’t come through a filter of privilege. There is nothing I can do but fight for justice. But I have a forum, and I will not be silent on this. Police murder of black and brown unarmed civilians is a pandemic in the United States. It is a means that entire communities are kept under the sometimes literal boot of white privilege. It is the perpetuation of oppression dating back 400…
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In Which Straw Men Get Punched —More on Halstead/Green
This is getting silly, but more has to be said in this conversation. Here is a link to John’s latest response to my response to his response. Links to all the other pieces are listed in that one. I am frankly tired of John’s putting words in my mouth and then arguing with them. He’s an attorney, he knows about logical fallacies, and he should know better. Let’s just list them, shall we? I have never suggested that renewable energy will provide as much energy as industrial capitalism consumes now. I am not a “techno-optimist”, as he had it. I am a pragmatist who understands that energy consumption will conform…
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The Doomsaying Simply Isn’t Helping: More on My Exchange with John Halstead
I really think my friend John Halstead has missed the most salient points of my recent post, “Why the Doomsters are completely wrong”. His response glosses over my most important critiques of his position and mischaracterizes others. First and foremost, though claiming the space of “speaking truth”, he ignores the thorough debunking of Michael Moore’s recent film, Planet of the Humans, which does the dirty work of the fossil fuel industry by making false claims about the impact and effectiveness of renewable energy sources. John doesn’t seem to acknowledge the very game we are playing here, which is one of contesting ideas. While he says that “of course” we should…
