Sunday, February 05, 2006

Sustainability Sunday


Well, I guess I am gonna be taking a little bit of a stretch on the concept here because of my belief system... So, let me elaborate before I explain what I did this week. We can have all the alternative fuels. We can save a million trees. Clean all the rivers and stop the extinction of a dozen species of insects. Never put an unfriendly chemical in the air, water, or soil. We CAN do it. But can doesn't cut it. And for the most part, those of us that are doing something always will. With that in mind, what are we accomplishing on this blogject but touting our own greatness. Myself, being entirely too pragmatic in world view, I harbor a little cynicism for a beautiful world with no one who is happy to be there. And the converse being true, who will save an Earth they hate living upon. So, in all my high school educated glory, I would dare to propose the hypothesis that we gotta sustain the people's quality of life and then, maybe then, they will feel more aware of the possibility of losing this beautiful living rock we call home.

So this is my sustainability. I volunteer with HIV/AIDS events and organizations. This last week I taught a class of 32 new volunteers. I sat on a panel and gave real life perspective of what it is like to live in MY world with HIV. Just my perspective. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I was shocked at points with the amount of information some people did not know. Even being a part of this type of activism as long as I have, I am eternally astounded by the amount of work left. This disease in particular, aside from my personal infection, is raping our world of ourselves. Of people to care about the environment at all. Whole countries are more than 50% infected with little hope of treatment or viable prevention. It is one thing to orchestrate a trip to The Congo stop help restore forests. It is another to go to pick bodies off the forest floor. As morbid as it sounds, to me that is the way we are going. Save a tree so no one is here to look at it. Excepting maybe all the beautiful monoliths we have created in reverent hubris.

3 comments:

Robert van de Walle said...

Louis, honestly, I feel like any comment at all trivializes what you wrote.

I admire your contribution to world harmony from the deepest part of my soul. I'm very inspired to read about what you are up to-- and that's why tooting our own horn in this forum is certainly not an ego exercise-- because how would I know to celebrate what you do for humanity, unless you tell me?

Thanks so much for the good you do.

Ty said...

I had to use a whole blog post to comment on your blog today, Louis.
Don't give up. I love you.

two star general said...

I would always make my techer in sociology mad because she was a tree hugger and I would say "Why save the world if the people living in it aren't worth saving." A little bit more cruel then what yoe are saying but similar in idea.