I’m really starting to question if there is nearly any part of my life isn’t slowly killing myself, my generation, my children’s generations or their children’s generations. If you had asked me a month ago if eating fish from the Hudson River was a good idea I’d probably be sensible enough to guess that it probably isn’t, but the thought that even taking the subway is doing my body damage seems beyond what I could have imagined possible. New York, and maybe even just first world culture altogether, seems so filled with peril around every bend that it makes me question if anything can really be done. It seems that all of the foundation to which we built our society atop was faulty, and as it slowly disintegrates those particles are building up, giving us cancer and slowly killing us right under our noses. Our every day lives function because of how effortless it is to ignore these problems and in part it probably is a factor to why our society has been so successful. We don’t worry about our trash, energy, cars or food, and because of that we have more time for other matters; even if caring about these issues will impact the rest of our lives and the lives of those long after us.
I’m starting to think change isn’t even worth striving for because the scale of the change necessary to truly fix things seems so utterly impossible. Some of the most basic ideology our country was founded on, steadfast doctrines we Americans swear by such as private property, and consumerism and capitalism simply don’t seem to be achievable in a world that truly addresses all the dangers to the environment present in our society. While the 99% can continue their lives blissfully ignorant of the damage that is being done to them there will always be someone there to take an advantage of them and the environment. The simple truth is that unless an issue can so impact a person that it changes their daily life, the average person will simply go about their day without dealing with it. The only way for things to really change would be from a universal change of attitude across the population or an acceptance that these issues are not simply the ramblings of radicals and intellectuals, but rather serious dangers to everyone; neither however seems even remotely likely.
I do feel privileged taking this class knowing that I am less ignorant than the masses but my complete lack of ability to make any difference leaves me just frustrated and disheartened. I’ve tried explaining some of the issues discussed in class to friends, and when I bring up brownfields, air pollutants or PCBs, their response is nearly always a resounding “…so?” People my age would rather discuss nearly anything than these matters, and in the twitter generation I am a part of that is becoming the absolute norm. When I brought these issues up to my parents and older relatives they at least knew what I was talking about, but even then I doubt any of them ever took action to stop these problems and truthfully they came from a different era where attention spans could last longer than 10 seconds. In 2012 if you ever don’t want to address a problem and clear your head, it’s as simple as jumping on your smart phone and seeing what 140 characters your favorite celebrity felt the need to broadcast to the planet; that is not a mindset to tackle these kinds of issues with. I can’t seem to find any audience in my friends over these issues and I’m still yet to find a way that I can make an impact beyond signing an occasional petition I see online and trying to be more conscious of my power usage and recycling. I just feel like my hands are tied. Truly I can’t wait for the later part of the course where I can try to figure out how to make an impact because right now I just feel really quite powerless.
