Be forewarned – this is a rant post.
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I think the entire planet could use an attitude adjustment.
Something that has become painfully apparent recently and it is something I have thought about in the past. The general I don’t care mentality of the public. If it is not happening between home and work and directly affecting you – most people couldn’t care less – no matter how wrong it is. Oh, believe me, I’ll nod my head at all the appropriate times, give all the appropriate condolences, and then go home turn on every light in the house and take myself a nap.
People just don’t care about people anymore. People care about money – there is plenty of proof of that right here in West Virginia. People care about animals – there’s proof of that all over the internet. People care about football, SUV’s, and Jerry Seinfeld. People just don’t care about people. Look at Iraq – if we gave a rats ass – that war would be over already. Look at Appalachia – if we gave a rats ass – this war would be over already.
Let’s look at Iraq – from somebody in the coalfields dealing with mountaintop removal – it puts a whole new spin on the war in Iraq. With the destruction we are doing right here on American soil for cheap energy – I have to seriously wonder what our real reason for still being in Iraq is. Surely we are not there for the oil and making residents life a living hell in the process.
We are doing it right here in Appalachia for coal with 100% support of the US Government. Basically that means the US Government doesn’t negotiate with terrorists but they will sure back them 100% for cheap energy. The coal industry can be directly compared to terrorism when it comes to mountaintop removal. The destruction to the mountains, the immorality, loss of property, loss of property rights, forced away from your home, hassled by thugs – bullies – destruction workers – friends of coal, the explosions, shrapnel, floods, coal and rock dust, contaminated drinking water, loss of wildlife, loss of every frigging thing.
Probably the only thing the coal industry does that can keep them from being classified as terrorists is that they provide cheap energy – coal keeps the lights on. The only positive thing going for coal in a sea of negatives. There is a reason coal is cheap ladies and gentleman – the industry is run by ruthless crooks that will stop at nothing to get at it.
I don’t know, it just seems like in fighting mountaintop removal coal mining – the battle is not so much in the education arena because more effort is taken to try and simply get you to give a rats ass. We have all the proof you could ever want or need – you just have to break away from the norm and care about something/somebody outside of your circle. This may be your once in a lifetime chance to just do the right thing.
We have to solve this energy issue and we have to do it now – preferably, before the next soldier dies in Iraq or before the next explosion in the mountains of Appalachia.
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Manchin plans no investigation of coal, health
And yet, it goes on…
Photos best viewed in high definition!!
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When one tugs at a single thing in nature; he finds it attached to the rest of the world.
I blame the Information Age. Don’t get me wrong, I love that I can pull up the internet and find out about just about anything that there is to know about… but we are overwhelmed, I think, with information about things that we really SHOULD care about. Just checking my email today, I got info about everything from the environment to the Iraq war, and that doesn’t even count the things I will see on TV or in blogs or elsewhere…
I’m not making excuses for people. There are a lot of things out there that we need to care about, and there are a lot of things that need our immediate attention if we want to survive as a species. But we are overwhelmed with things to care about, and I think a lot of us choose to not care about anything important because it’s easier than prioritizing all this information.
This is really bad. I think we’re getting desensitized, in a really big way.
Here’s the deal, at least from my perspective. Some people will care a lot. Some people will be willing to make sacrifices to stop things they believe are wrong. Other people will care a little, they might write a letter or donate some money. Some people won’t care at all, or will choose to care about other issues than the one that you care about.
As Rebecca says, there are a lot of things about which we should worry out there. Not everyone will choose to focus on the issue on which you are focused. The trick is to welcome those who do support you, and to find levels of ways, some more committed, some less committed, by which people can show their support if they choose to do so.
I can sense from your last few posts both here and on the Stop MTR blog that you’re getting frustrated. You have to take your gains where you can find them. As a result of what you’ve done, there is now a lot more information about MTR available, and a lot more people who know about it. You’ve educated several people from the OBS alone, and those are people who have their own platforms they can use to educate still more people.
Patience isn’t only a virtue, sometimes it is a necessity. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try your hardest every day to change the things you think are wrong. It just means you have to be realistic about how long those changes may take.
I’m so happy I wrote this post. Your comment has inspired another post “Patience Is A Virtue.” Look for this in the near future. I have to first talk to some people that have to show extreme patience under extreme adverse conditions. There is a reason my patience is running thin and the reason is not for lack of patience.
btw – I’m not trying to be confrontational. Just attempting to clarify my position.
I don’t see you as being confrontational. You’re certainly entitled to handle things your own way and to feel how you feel. I was just pointing out that you’ve done a lot, even if it doesn’t seem like that to you.
Looking forward to reading your post.
Sorry Kristine :) Definitely don’t want to offend you. I believe you are the most regular visitor to this blog.
I think my problem is that I am getting too emotionally involved with my subject matter. But I honestly can’t see how not to. I mean, I live right here – I experience all I talk about. It’s not something I read in the newspaper or hear from a friend.
Your probably right, I don’t notice what I have done so far – and that is because I can still feel the explosions. ;)
I’m going to take a much needed hiatus and come up with a new approach.
Rebecca – I meant to comment last time but sometimes I have a one track mind. I agree with absolutely everything you said. I’m with ya – I love being able to learn about any topic. But sometimes I wonder if that is a good thing. Just the subject of mtr alone is overwhelming and when added to the problems of the rest of the world it’s probably a little difficult to pick one particular issue out of the cesspool and try to help fix it.
I guess my big problem with that is that coal is a huge contributor to global warming and when looking in a cesspool of global issues you would have to look under global warming to see anything else.
It’s not a bad thing, Denny. I think that God gave us all different strengths for a reason. Maybe your strength is your drive to DO SOMETHING about MTR and motivate the rest of us. See? You keep this blog. You brought MTR from the “stuff I know is a problem but don’t really think a whole lot about” category in my brain to the “stuff that is a really big problem, I know stuff about it and want to do something to help” category. I’m just one person. What if there are other people who have made that same transition because of your blog? What if, eventually, someone in a position to do something really big to help reads your blog?
Hey, have you ever thought of submitting articles to newspapers and magazines for a wider audience? You’re a really good writer, and you’re experiencing MTR all around you. I think a lot of people don’t understand the full range of problems created by MTR. “So the coal companies mess up a few hillbilly’s houses…. big deal?” that’s probably the general attitude about it for people who don’t have to think about it. But say they pick up a magazine somewhere and read an article about how big a problem it really is, and how widespread the fallout… then they’ll HAVE to think about it.
Remember, we do what we can, but sometimes the things we do can affect other changes. Hang in there. You’re doing what you can — educating others. As a teacher, I can tell you the payoff is sometimes really slow, and sometimes you don’t see it at all. Then, when you least expect it, someone will say, “you know what? What you said really motivated me to do something…” :)
Thank you Rebecca :)
I’d have to say that is probably one of the best motivational comments ever.
I had never thought about writing for a magazine or anything like that. I guess the saying you are your own worst critic rings extra true for me. I’ve just never considered my writing to be good. As a matter of fact I backed out of co-authoring a book for that very reason. That would be a good idea though – writing about MTR. It is a subject I usually don’t have to think about much before writing.
I guess I could say that I really hope what I write motivates somebody else to do something and I wish I could write well enough to motivate the planet.