Public Service Announcement: You cannot, as an individual, do enough self-care to deal with greed-caused disasters assaulting your health and wellness. Self-care is necessary and important but is not a substitute for community care. The environmental tragedy
I still do a lot of the typed thingies. I'm on a Mac. Edit/Emoji & symbols, then I type "heart" into the search box (I don't know how to find them otherwise--!).
Those memes speak volumes. They're great. I'm curious how they'd be received outside this Neighborhood.
I'm inclined to direct a close family member to this article. She was enraged that Pete Buttigieg hadn't been to this disaster site when we last talked, but she's also dead set against what she calls "handouts," which are, in my mind, community care. I don't know how she doesn't feel the cognitive dissonance.
Greed. Oy. Where to start. Thinking globally and acting locally suggests I should start with this voting family member, but I fear that's a lost cause. She's immovable, at least by me; she'll do anything Fox News tells her to do.
I like your take on it. Yes, I think framing situations in light of the greed involved would help us see where flaws in the system are. The trick is going to be coming to a near-universal understanding of reality. One person's greed is another person's generosity these days. We live in a world of magic mirrors and make-believe.
Wow. What a downer I am. Sorry. Time to breathe deeply while I make my smoothie behind my boundary.
Jen, thanks for doing the One Small Thing! As to trying to speak openly w/ an immovable family member, I totally understand. It is so tricky. I think having conversations like this, where we focus on the greed, on both sides of the aisle & at the corporate level, we might be able to build some solidarity. I also don't think you're a downer; you're strengthening your tolerance for wrestling w/ uncomfortable information while taking the small, manageable steps you can to address the issues that come up. I appreciate you!
Jen- I also have some family members in the same boat. It's very frustrating!
I think this is another issue with greed coming down from the top- it usually turns those of us not at the top against each other.
I imagine all of the billionaires, hanging out on their private planet that they take their personal rocket ships to, laughing at the rest of us while we're at each other's throats over how to handle this tragedy.
Zuckerburg: I could save that community by selling off TWO yachts.
Bloomberg: I could save that community by selling off ONE yacht.
Gates: I could save that community by selling off just 10% of my car collection.
Bezos: I could save the community AND pay for every child's lunch who is living below poverty level by selling my $500 million yacht.
Musk: I could save that community AND pay for lunch AND cover Santa Claus's total annual expenses by dumping a bunch of Tesla stock. Oh wait... I already did that! For my own personal gain!!
Forget family members. Did you look at the list of PACs and congresspeople that they donated to? It's Ds and Rs. I'm going to write my representatives in congress. Outrageous. 😡
Thank you for explaining what exactly happened. I don't watch news to protect my sanity, and I kept hearing about some disaster in Ohio and I knew it was bad but I frankly didn't have the energy to stop and figure out what exactly was happening. Your explanation was helpful and frankly much worse than I was imagining it was. My heart goes out to those people and I'm grateful that you shared away we could help.
I'm glad you protect yourself by not watching the news, Sue. And honored that you were comfortable learning about what happened here. Maybe if all our news were done in this style of "honest conversations about hard topics" & presented w/ ways to help, it would keep us all saner??
YES! I keep wondering about the journalism industry and whether it should do more about mis- and disinformation and the choice to arouse fear and anger for the sake of eyeballs and revenue (a.k.a. greed). For instance, should there be requirements for an organization calling itself "news"? At what point does free speech become hate speech, and what should we do about that?
Jen, VERY good questions, especially w/ the new info (kind of roll my eyes about it being a new reveal to any of us, though) about all the folks on FOX knowingly lying about the election while sharing how absurd Trump's assertions that he was cheated were behind the scenes, we have to think, "Can this network really call itself "news" anymore? Is what they have done to our democracy the equivalent of yelling fire in a crowded theater?"
I also called my Senators and Congressman to push for a full scale federal investigation, as well as money to the community to help those whose lives, livelihood, and health will never be the same.
Today’s post is causing brain spin out.
First off, great summary of this tragedy. I am a regular news consumer and to be totally honest- the vibe I was getting was “Whoops- here’s an accident! And it’s not great and someone is going to have be be accountable, but overall it’s a total Whoops.” I’m so glad to have a better understanding.
GREED. Yes. I think looking at greed like an illness instead of a character flaw is really smart. And… how much pain and misery over the course of human history can be fully or partially attributed to greed? Let's not even complete that exercise because I'm not sure any of us could survive that conversation.
I think the thing that makes greed as a disease extra troublesome is that it creates apathy towards other human beings. I remember a podcast (or maybe a book? I can’t remember….) that covered the financial incentive of wealthy factory owners in Germany in the 1930s to go along with the Nazi regime in gearing up for war. It was staggering the amount of money that was made. One of the greatest mis-truths about the holocaust and WWII is that is was caused by a few bad actors, when actually, 90% of the (non-marginalized) German population either directly supported or tolerated the Nazis (partially due to the staggering gains in wealth).
Which is all good and fine to look back and judge people in another place and time. But is the tolerance of greed in the current day U.S. *so* different? Sure, we don’t have mass genocide, but I mean, billionaires are having space races for fun when around 14% of U.S. school children are living below the poverty level. Can the disease of greed make a person believe that riding in a rocket ship is more important than a child have the stability of food and shelter? I’m thinking yes.
The *only* way this all makes sense is to look at greed as a disease.
And speaking of greed- are you going to read Bernie Sanders new book? It’s called “It’s Ok to be Angry About Capitalism.” I recently started on a journey of reflection about how entrenched I personally am in capitalism. This is all well timed.
You’re the best. Thanks for starting the hard conversations.
Kelsey, thanks for doing the One Small Thing & for the extra steps in contacting your reps. And thank you for sharing your "brain spin out." Love it!
Part of what motivated me to write this note was exactly that "whoops" mentality being reported overall everywhere. Fuck that. It was no whoops.
Greed. Whew. Yes, not at all suprising how much money was made in WWII Germany & how much it motivated people to go along w/ genocide. Actually, money is a pretty motivating factor in the US to go along w/ war too. A great documentary on this is called, "Why We Fight," about our military-industrial complex.
I definitely think the disease of greed can make a person believe riding in a rocket is more important than feeding & housing a child. Again, the ultra-wealthy are insulated from the same reality the rest of us experience. If you have enough money to build a rocket & take a trip on it, than chances are children w/out enough food or secure housing never enter into your sphere. Sometimes we can't understand, because of proximity to a problem. Their greed completely removes proximity.
I haven't gotten Bernie's book, but I probably will & we might see one of his book tour speaking events next week. That journey about capitalism entrenchment is rough. I'm learning & exploring too. Something that helps me a lot when I'm discouraged about it right now is a quote by the author, Ursula K. Le Guin, "We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words."
Our writing, including about the kind of thoughtful parenting your embarking on, is part of resistance & change. Someday, capitalism may not exist & it will be because we questioned it & tried to imagine & teach new ways. Thanks so much for being here, Kelsey!
Thank you so much for your kind words! I am surprised at how freely my parenting thoughts have been flowing, when I've felt "stuck" as a wellness creator for years. I'm realizing it's something a lot of us are feeling- Paleo only goes so far when everything else is a dumpster fire.
Thanks for sharing that quote. That is a very good reminder and I threw it into my Trello board on "quotes to come back to."
Whew, I deeply appreciate how your writing always brings us to the ROOT of the issues we face; this is a country which thrives on surface-level thinking and superficial solutions - and none of that produces the kind of radical transformation which is necessary!
GREED is literally killing us in multiple ways, and the elite are largely sheltered from it’s impact. But even they will not escape the utter destruction of the planet we are heading towards if there are not major shifts. I keep thinking about what Dr. King told us about the urgency of choosing people over profits and rooting our values in beloved community.
❤️ 🫶🏼
Thanks so much, Deborah!
Well done on the hearts. I couldn't find them. :-) I'm still doing typed smiles.
I still do a lot of the typed thingies. I'm on a Mac. Edit/Emoji & symbols, then I type "heart" into the search box (I don't know how to find them otherwise--!).
Ahhhh! I literally never knew this.
Look what I found:
🤦🏼♀️😉🎉
😁
Loooove the community support here!
❤️
I searched "heart emoji" in Windows and was led to an online source to copy and paste. :-/
One Small Thing done.
Those memes speak volumes. They're great. I'm curious how they'd be received outside this Neighborhood.
I'm inclined to direct a close family member to this article. She was enraged that Pete Buttigieg hadn't been to this disaster site when we last talked, but she's also dead set against what she calls "handouts," which are, in my mind, community care. I don't know how she doesn't feel the cognitive dissonance.
Greed. Oy. Where to start. Thinking globally and acting locally suggests I should start with this voting family member, but I fear that's a lost cause. She's immovable, at least by me; she'll do anything Fox News tells her to do.
I like your take on it. Yes, I think framing situations in light of the greed involved would help us see where flaws in the system are. The trick is going to be coming to a near-universal understanding of reality. One person's greed is another person's generosity these days. We live in a world of magic mirrors and make-believe.
Wow. What a downer I am. Sorry. Time to breathe deeply while I make my smoothie behind my boundary.
Go, team!
Jen, thanks for doing the One Small Thing! As to trying to speak openly w/ an immovable family member, I totally understand. It is so tricky. I think having conversations like this, where we focus on the greed, on both sides of the aisle & at the corporate level, we might be able to build some solidarity. I also don't think you're a downer; you're strengthening your tolerance for wrestling w/ uncomfortable information while taking the small, manageable steps you can to address the issues that come up. I appreciate you!
Jen- I also have some family members in the same boat. It's very frustrating!
I think this is another issue with greed coming down from the top- it usually turns those of us not at the top against each other.
I imagine all of the billionaires, hanging out on their private planet that they take their personal rocket ships to, laughing at the rest of us while we're at each other's throats over how to handle this tragedy.
Zuckerburg: I could save that community by selling off TWO yachts.
Bloomberg: I could save that community by selling off ONE yacht.
Gates: I could save that community by selling off just 10% of my car collection.
Bezos: I could save the community AND pay for every child's lunch who is living below poverty level by selling my $500 million yacht.
Musk: I could save that community AND pay for lunch AND cover Santa Claus's total annual expenses by dumping a bunch of Tesla stock. Oh wait... I already did that! For my own personal gain!!
All: Muahahahahahaha. Let them eat cake.
Kelsey, this exchange w/ the billionaires is what's in my head too. LOL!
Forget family members. Did you look at the list of PACs and congresspeople that they donated to? It's Ds and Rs. I'm going to write my representatives in congress. Outrageous. 😡
❤️
Thank you!
❤️
Thank you for explaining what exactly happened. I don't watch news to protect my sanity, and I kept hearing about some disaster in Ohio and I knew it was bad but I frankly didn't have the energy to stop and figure out what exactly was happening. Your explanation was helpful and frankly much worse than I was imagining it was. My heart goes out to those people and I'm grateful that you shared away we could help.
I'm glad you protect yourself by not watching the news, Sue. And honored that you were comfortable learning about what happened here. Maybe if all our news were done in this style of "honest conversations about hard topics" & presented w/ ways to help, it would keep us all saner??
YES! I keep wondering about the journalism industry and whether it should do more about mis- and disinformation and the choice to arouse fear and anger for the sake of eyeballs and revenue (a.k.a. greed). For instance, should there be requirements for an organization calling itself "news"? At what point does free speech become hate speech, and what should we do about that?
Jen, VERY good questions, especially w/ the new info (kind of roll my eyes about it being a new reveal to any of us, though) about all the folks on FOX knowingly lying about the election while sharing how absurd Trump's assertions that he was cheated were behind the scenes, we have to think, "Can this network really call itself "news" anymore? Is what they have done to our democracy the equivalent of yelling fire in a crowded theater?"
Yeah, "new" info. Pffffft.
It's useless without consequences, anyway.
Exactly!
Hey, did you see this? NPR has an article about why there is little government can do about lies on cable "news" programs.
https://www.npr.org/2023/03/16/1163505593/tucker-carlson-regulate-cable-jan-6-security-tapes?utm_id=57764909&orgid=169&utm_att1=
Thanks for this!!
(Heart Emoji) <-- Typing this from my MacBook.
I also called my Senators and Congressman to push for a full scale federal investigation, as well as money to the community to help those whose lives, livelihood, and health will never be the same.
Today’s post is causing brain spin out.
First off, great summary of this tragedy. I am a regular news consumer and to be totally honest- the vibe I was getting was “Whoops- here’s an accident! And it’s not great and someone is going to have be be accountable, but overall it’s a total Whoops.” I’m so glad to have a better understanding.
GREED. Yes. I think looking at greed like an illness instead of a character flaw is really smart. And… how much pain and misery over the course of human history can be fully or partially attributed to greed? Let's not even complete that exercise because I'm not sure any of us could survive that conversation.
I think the thing that makes greed as a disease extra troublesome is that it creates apathy towards other human beings. I remember a podcast (or maybe a book? I can’t remember….) that covered the financial incentive of wealthy factory owners in Germany in the 1930s to go along with the Nazi regime in gearing up for war. It was staggering the amount of money that was made. One of the greatest mis-truths about the holocaust and WWII is that is was caused by a few bad actors, when actually, 90% of the (non-marginalized) German population either directly supported or tolerated the Nazis (partially due to the staggering gains in wealth).
Which is all good and fine to look back and judge people in another place and time. But is the tolerance of greed in the current day U.S. *so* different? Sure, we don’t have mass genocide, but I mean, billionaires are having space races for fun when around 14% of U.S. school children are living below the poverty level. Can the disease of greed make a person believe that riding in a rocket ship is more important than a child have the stability of food and shelter? I’m thinking yes.
The *only* way this all makes sense is to look at greed as a disease.
And speaking of greed- are you going to read Bernie Sanders new book? It’s called “It’s Ok to be Angry About Capitalism.” I recently started on a journey of reflection about how entrenched I personally am in capitalism. This is all well timed.
You’re the best. Thanks for starting the hard conversations.
Kelsey, thanks for doing the One Small Thing & for the extra steps in contacting your reps. And thank you for sharing your "brain spin out." Love it!
Part of what motivated me to write this note was exactly that "whoops" mentality being reported overall everywhere. Fuck that. It was no whoops.
Greed. Whew. Yes, not at all suprising how much money was made in WWII Germany & how much it motivated people to go along w/ genocide. Actually, money is a pretty motivating factor in the US to go along w/ war too. A great documentary on this is called, "Why We Fight," about our military-industrial complex.
I definitely think the disease of greed can make a person believe riding in a rocket is more important than feeding & housing a child. Again, the ultra-wealthy are insulated from the same reality the rest of us experience. If you have enough money to build a rocket & take a trip on it, than chances are children w/out enough food or secure housing never enter into your sphere. Sometimes we can't understand, because of proximity to a problem. Their greed completely removes proximity.
I haven't gotten Bernie's book, but I probably will & we might see one of his book tour speaking events next week. That journey about capitalism entrenchment is rough. I'm learning & exploring too. Something that helps me a lot when I'm discouraged about it right now is a quote by the author, Ursula K. Le Guin, "We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words."
Our writing, including about the kind of thoughtful parenting your embarking on, is part of resistance & change. Someday, capitalism may not exist & it will be because we questioned it & tried to imagine & teach new ways. Thanks so much for being here, Kelsey!
Thank you so much for your kind words! I am surprised at how freely my parenting thoughts have been flowing, when I've felt "stuck" as a wellness creator for years. I'm realizing it's something a lot of us are feeling- Paleo only goes so far when everything else is a dumpster fire.
Thanks for sharing that quote. That is a very good reminder and I threw it into my Trello board on "quotes to come back to."
In the meantime, we'll just keep swimming.🐟
❤️
Thank you!
Whew, I deeply appreciate how your writing always brings us to the ROOT of the issues we face; this is a country which thrives on surface-level thinking and superficial solutions - and none of that produces the kind of radical transformation which is necessary!
GREED is literally killing us in multiple ways, and the elite are largely sheltered from it’s impact. But even they will not escape the utter destruction of the planet we are heading towards if there are not major shifts. I keep thinking about what Dr. King told us about the urgency of choosing people over profits and rooting our values in beloved community.
Thank you for another thought provoking piece!
Dr. King saw well ahead of time what had to shift. Now we are paying the price for not acting w/ the urgency he encouraged. We have to keep trying!
Did the one small thing, too! TY for sharing another org. we can support!
Thank you!
<3
Thank you!