A New Vision
People are in desperate need of a new vision. The vision our culture currently holds of itself and its place in the world is destructive. But we can't abandon that vision until we have a new one to hold on to. Culture cannot exist in a vacuum.
People are desperate for something different. They don't want the old way, they don't want the same way, they want a new way.
If we are to save the world it won't because national governments or the UN have come up some great new program that will feed the world, eradicate disease and stop environmental destruction.
Programs like these are okay, but ultimately they are ineffective. When your vision is leading you to destruction, programs only exist to mitigate the flow. We don't need advertising campaigns and incentives to encourage corporations to be destructive, because vision takes care of that. So we need to change the vision to something that works and then we won't need to try and enforce environmentally friendly programs on people.
If there is going to be real change on this planet it will be because people are thinking differently. How we think determines how we act. In order to create a better world we need a better vision.
Why We Need A New Vision
We can't just abandon the vision we currently hold and exist with nothing. This is what the flower children tried to do in the 60s and 70s. If we are to abandon a vision we need a viable and purposeful vision to adopt instead. We can change our vision to something that works for people and for the planet.
The Global Vision Of Deep Ecology
This vision is really the ancient mindset that man has adopted throughout most of his time on the planet. It is the idea that we are not separate from nature and that the world was made for all creation. We are an amazing creature but we need to be humble and realize we are just one creature. The others must be allowed to flourish.
The Power Of Changed Minds
Changing minds is the key to changing the world. Doing things differently whilst locked into the same old mindset will not help us. But changing the way we think is a real solution. New ideas are contagious. As more and more people begin thinking a new way the idea will spread. Just one changed mind will have a powerful effect on the world.
There Is No One Right Way To Live
From the birth of our culture we have believed that there is one right way for humans to live. All we have to do is find that one right way and make everybody follow it. This belief has caused unquantifiable destruction. Our new vision must allow for difference; it must accept that there is not a single right way by which all humans must live.
The American Republic Can't Be Saved
There are many people who blame our social mire on the fact that America has descended from a republic into a corporate oligarchy. This may be true but it is an inevitable result of the way we structure our civilization. Restoring the republic won't save us; instead we need to go beyond civilization to something better.
A Doomsday Scenario Is Not What The Deep Ecology Vision Is About
The drive behind Deep Ecology is the desire for a new vision of man's place in the world. Although Deep Ecology acknowledges and documents the fact the current vision that is leading the planet to destruction it isn't about scaremongering and doomsday warnings. It is about creating a better world.
Written Law Won't Save The World
We cannot rely on politicians and their written laws to stop the ecological crisis. Their laws are man-made contrivances. They have no impact on a society that is contravening evolutionary and biological laws. We need a new vision at a grassroots level; not in the ivory towers. Ecological destruction cannot be turned around with global summits and international agreements.
The Nature Of Human Society Is Not Fundamentally Evil
We don't have some insecapable flaw that makes us destroy the environment. The problem is that we are breaking the peace-keeping law of the biological community. And creature who does this would cause the destruction we are causing. Human nature and human society are not to blame. We just need to abide by the law.
Lessons From The Mayan Civilization
Most people look to the Mayan Civilization for clues as to how we can keep our civilization afloat. But the lesson we should learn from the Maya is this: if civilization isn't working, feel free to abandon it for something better. The Mayan collapse was not involuntary; they took off into the jungle because they decided that lifestyle was better than their experiment with civilization.
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