Activism

Political Activism

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I used to be a lot more involved in political activism back in the day. But I’ve lost interest and have frankly been turned off by some much of the political ideology that goes along with it. I don’t like the idea of supporting groups that have only one limited world view on our country and are unwilling to see beyond what their group believes is right.

Maybe I’m too much of an iconoclast, too ready to jump ship when I only agree on seven out of ten points. Maybe I’m just too comfortable on where I stand today that I don’t feel like being involved with political movements is that important. Maybe loud and obnoxious protests aren’t my style.

Things could change in the Trump era. I like the man the lot but I am concerned with some of his policies and what they mean for the future of our country. Maybe I will be back out on the streets demanding change. Or maybe I’ll just go back in my fishing rod and shotgun, and forget about the world around me.

The industries causing the climate crisis and attacks against defenders | Global Witness

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The industries causing the climate crisis and attacks against defenders | Global Witness

Since 2012, Global Witness has been gathering data on killings of land and environmental defenders. In that time, a grim picture has come into focus – with the evidence suggesting that as the climate crisis intensifies, violence against those protecting their land and our planet also increases. It has become clear that the unaccountable exploitation and greed driving the climate crisis is also driving violence against land and environmental defenders.

Is America More Polarized Then in the Past?

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Political Billboards About Chief Justice Earl WarrenI keep hearing it on the radio and in the press that America is:

  • More Polarized
  • More Violent
  • More Destructive
  • More Polluted

… then ever before

I have to roll my eyes, just because it’s such a myopic view of history,and the place we are as a society. It ignores the dramatic progress we’ve made in recent years at addressing the real problems of the past, and presents the world of today in a much more negative light then really should be presented.

One of my hobbies is reading about the 1950s and 1960s, as they were so seminal in creating the world of today. Despite what sometimes commentators of the news claim today, it certainly was not an era of unity or smooth action in Washington DC or at the State Capitols.

It was an incredibly violent era in American history, one of intense division on issues of culture, segregation, civil rights, and the role of the federal government. Policies of the past 100 years came crashing down in that decade, and many people 50 years later are still pretty bitter about what happened during that time period.

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Landscape

Why I’m Rarely Ideologically Consistent

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“Calling yourself a liberal or conservative, is kind of like saying, I’ve made up my mind, don’t confuse me with the facts.” — Governor Nelson Rockefeller

People sometimes like to point out to me on Twitter that I re-tweet and bring in information from a variety of perspectives. Most of the time I actually agree with the stuff I am re-tweeting, other times it’s informational.

Yet, most of time what I share is from a variety of perspectives, as I’m hardly one of a solid ideological camp. I am pretty independent, picking what I want from materials generated by the Democrats and Republicans, Conservatives and Liberals, Urban-folk and Rural-folk. I simply try to share what I believe is right.

Dry Blueberry Bushes

I always keep several principles in mind when it comes to defining what I think is right:

  • Urban and Rural Communities are Very Different – Impacts of population multiply effects more quickly in urban areas, more nuisance possibility, more possibility of conflict
  • Regulations on individuals should be minimized, corporations and business activities more generally ought to be regulated to serve the public good – civil liberties and general freedom should be upheld for individuals

I believe my views are actually quite consistent when it comes to context. I just believe in maximum individual freedom, and maximum freedom for those who live rural areas, while appropiate restrictions for urbanized areas where large groups of people live.