At the moment, my feelings about the environment aren't all that different than my feelings about this blog: I'm not sure what I think, and I'm not sure I want to spend part of my Saturday figuring it out. But I guess I have to figure it out at some point in my life, so it might as well be now.
In general, I tend to be a bit apathetic when it comes to politics. I consider myself a conservative, but it's not something that means a great deal to me. What does matter to me is my faith. I was raised in a very strong Christian household, and that is something that is very real to me. It essentially defines who I am. I am admittedly not very well informed when it comes to politics, but the conservative view seems to line up better with what I believe, particularly with subjects such as abortion, physician-assisted suicide, and the role of religion in public life.
My attitude toward the environment is only slightly more active than my attitude toward politics. I don't consider myself an environmentalist. I care about the environment, but not to the point that it affects my life all that much. I recycle, both at school where it is effortless and at home where it takes a bit more work, but it isn't something I'm particularly passionate about. I subscribe to the general Christian view that the world is a gift from God to be both used for our benefit and protected for future use, but it isn't a central theme in my life.
I realize that this isn't perhaps the healthiest view to have about politics and the environment; after all, both do in some way affect my life or will eventually, and what happens now will affect the lives of my children, and their children, and so on. It's not a topic I generally choose to dwell on, and perhaps that should change. One of the major points of this course seems to be to get us to think. I think it will be good for me to be forced to consider topics that I usually just brush over.
A week later...
Through the discussions this week, I've been realizing more and more how much human interaction with the environment really does affect things. After listening to the class discussions, I would consider myself a conservationist. I do believe economic expansion is important, but certainly not that the cost of depleting all of our natural resources. There is certainly something to be said about protecting the environment for future generations. The class discussions have been good in that I've been forced to think about the arguments for the different points of view. As I said last week, I think this is good. I'm slowing beginning to truly consider these things and figure out exactly what my views are.
You raise a point that I believe should be a centerpiece for a number of environmentalist groups; all Christians should be environmentalists. In Genesis, God has Adam name all of the animals, cementing his connection to them. Though it also gives Adam dominion over the animals, this, I believe, is more of a protector role and less of a supreme overlord role. A quick Google Image search will bring up a hundred paintings of Adam sitting or frolicking with animals, and not a one shows him feasting on their flesh. In the eyes of the Renaissance Biblical painters, it appears that an innocent and good man is a steward to the earth, not a ruler of it.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your conclusion, I think it is very important to know what you stand for and why, and I think that you are certainly not alone in your professed irresolute resolutions concerning the environment. To hear you critically evaluate your stance on the environment, and take some initiative to investigate it further is very en-heartening!
ReplyDeleteI think the attitude you expressed towards the environment is a pretty typical one in America, and who can blame anyone for that?- we’ve moved away from the land, most of us have grown up in suburbia and have never had to know why or by what means the lights turn on when we flick a switch, it just does. The difference, here, is that you’re taking some time to get informed and critically evaluate your position towards the environment—most just don’t seem to care.
Another thing that struck me about your post was your reference to the ease and availability of recycling options. This got me thinking, because even though you say that you, in the past, have had very little environmental consciousness, you still recycled—and did so especially where it was the easiest to do it. I wonder, then, why you did this? Did you feel some sort of moral compulsion to do so, or was it just because it was easy? This is very interesting as it could signal either a shift, perhaps, in our moral stance towards sustainability and the environment, or, if it was not out of a sense of moral obligation or of responsibility, then perhaps the US would be greatly benefited in making these sustainable and environmentally friendly options more readily available. I’m just wondering what made you take on these environmentally friendly actions even though you never considered yourself an environmentalist? Either way, I think your post leaves a lot of room for optimism in changing the view of most people towards the environment! Thanks for sharing!