Sometime last February my TV stopped working. I may have missed a memo but whatever. There's plenty of good material on the intertubes.
This week I found myself in an e-mail conversation making the case that the effort I and others are putting into Falls Area Singletrack (FAST) satisfies James Howard Kunstler’s requirement that we make ourselves “useful to [our] neighbors and fellow citizens.”
A remarkable theme emerged for me over the next few days.
In his superb TED Talk Kunstler says, "Life in the mid 21st century is going to be about living locally. Be prepared to be good neighbors." It’s his final point. Watch the whole talk at the TED website.
Later in the week Krista Tippett talked with Bill McKibben on her Speaking of Faith program. He’s "founder of 350.org, a global climate campaign named after what scientists deem the safe level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, 350 parts per million."
Krista says he’s written, "Research has shown that when we live on car-filled streets our number of close friends drops by half. We eat half the meals we used to with friends, family, neighbors...The big question for this century may turn out to be how fast we can relearn the skill of neighborliness."
Finally the Sanctuary For Independent Media has released this video of Reverend Billy and The Stop Shopping Gospel Choir. In “Beatitudes of Buylessness” he finishes off the song with “Blessed are you who disturb the customer. You just might be loving your neighbor.”
So Merry Christmas! I celebrated numerous times this week the birth of the man who got killed for saying crazy things like “The second greatest commandment in the bible is to love your neighbor as yourself.” What was true 2000 years ago is confirmed by many of my favorite people today.
Happy Birthday Baby Jesus.
3 comments:
mine, in des moines, lasted til June (well except for uhf stations broadcasting the home shopping network and tbn-the christian crazies) and found no problems due to the innertoob and dvd series at the library
Have met the Reverend Deadeye? No? Maybe you should see THIS
We got rid of our TV a while back when we realized that the only time we interacted with it was to dust it.
As for living locally, one of the unexpected pleasures of riding my bike to work has been when folks waiting for the bus greet me with a cheerful 'Good Morning!'. Funny how that NEVER happens when I'm in the car.
Post a Comment