I've been reading a lot of books lately which all seem to ultimately be telling me: the world needs saving more than ever! We're not just talking The United States/Europe/Asia, but everything! The climate! The environment! Our food! Water! Humanity! Truth! Justice! Freedoms that actually matter! Many of the solutions imply that whether we like it or not, some time in the future we won't be able to enjoy all of our creature comforts. This is not to imply that solutions necessarily entail all of us embracing asceticism. We just need less greed.
The key is "we." Luckily for my blood pressure, the one I am reading now just reminded the reader that we can't do it all alone. Solitude provides respite and necessary balance, but ultimately, we simply must work together.
In that vein, we wrapped up our class today with a discussion of which technology we couldn't imagine living without. I got the idea from one of the earlier essay questions, which had asked them to agree or disagree with the statement that engineers and scientists have done more for society than artists and writers. The standardized test loves to pit groups against one another instead of finding how they can work together. Interestingly, the common instinct for students is to find a way they can work together, even if the man-made test demands one choose a side. After all, certain people where both hats.
Thus, while the students mostly listed technology that had been invented in the past ten years (social media, smart phones, internet maps), I thought about all the times I'd gone without even the basic ones which came up here and there (electricity, transportation, etc.). People almost never say plumbing for some reason, which would probably be first on my list, given all the times I've gone without for days on end... or met people who barely had any to begin with. Clean running water, the miracle of miracles...
I could only go so long without certain comforts of the developed world... but I don't know what I would do without artists and writers. They're the ones who helped me do without technology before, and give me hope now. They build my courage to share truths, which will hopefully add to something larger where everyone plays a role to make this world whole
The key is "we." Luckily for my blood pressure, the one I am reading now just reminded the reader that we can't do it all alone. Solitude provides respite and necessary balance, but ultimately, we simply must work together.
In that vein, we wrapped up our class today with a discussion of which technology we couldn't imagine living without. I got the idea from one of the earlier essay questions, which had asked them to agree or disagree with the statement that engineers and scientists have done more for society than artists and writers. The standardized test loves to pit groups against one another instead of finding how they can work together. Interestingly, the common instinct for students is to find a way they can work together, even if the man-made test demands one choose a side. After all, certain people where both hats.
Thus, while the students mostly listed technology that had been invented in the past ten years (social media, smart phones, internet maps), I thought about all the times I'd gone without even the basic ones which came up here and there (electricity, transportation, etc.). People almost never say plumbing for some reason, which would probably be first on my list, given all the times I've gone without for days on end... or met people who barely had any to begin with. Clean running water, the miracle of miracles...
I could only go so long without certain comforts of the developed world... but I don't know what I would do without artists and writers. They're the ones who helped me do without technology before, and give me hope now. They build my courage to share truths, which will hopefully add to something larger where everyone plays a role to make this world whole
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