Much of my life has been spent within
the Judeo-Christian Military-Industrial mode of existence. I am not
speaking as a mere consumer of products and advertisement or as one
who adheres to that technotopian version of industrial superiority
but as one who was it's missionary, evangelist, and apologist. The
formative childhood years where spent in the shadow of the largest
coal shipping facility on the east coast as well the largest Naval
installation in the United States. Being raised in a conservative
Christian home attending one of the most theologically conservative
churches in the rural evangelical traditions the structure and order
of the world fell into a strictly regimented orthodoxy. The mantras
of this upbringing consisted of: “God and Country”,
“Wealth is the sign of discipline and right relationship with God”,
“the government is a God ordained authority which must be honored
and respected”, “technological progress is synonymous with
Americas greatness and blessing from God”, “nature is only a
resource for humans as the crown of Gods creation”. These and
other spoken and understood messages formed the rigid framework from
which the entire world and all it's subtleties fell into an
understandable form. Anything that contradicted these tenants was
dismissed as evil and subversive...to be shunned and reviled.
Pro-life rallies and Forth of July festivities, homosexual business
boycotts and anti-evolutionist training sessions where the hallmarks
of a childhood spent learning to propagate certain vital components
of the dominant culture. Upon leaving home the only choices seen as
viable where either Bible college or military enlistment. In a sense
they were the same for service to the church or the flag where
parallel paths further progressing the just and righteous causes of
Christ and freedom. Feeling that I had been given a specific calling
I joined the ranks of the Bible College students intent on making
the non believing world followers of Christ, fulfilling the “Great
Commission” hastening the eminent return of Christ thus ushering in
the new heaven and new earth under the Utopian perfection of God's
immediate presence. In the course of striving for the fulfillment of
this vision that edifice and rigid cosmology began to dissolve
leaving only questions and mysteries that formulated answers and
faith were powerless to stop. Gradually I began to see the
destruction of natural world, the fragility of the Christian
narrative in historical and anthropological terms, the arrogance of
American superiority, the danger in technological progress, and the
nuances and difficulties in defining wealth and poverty (and the
reasons for each) in terms of right action and right relationship
with God. In short nearly the whole of my upbringing was examined and
found to be patently false. Yet I walked away from that world
with the knowledge that the people who trained me were not dense or
evil but true believers utterly devoted to a certain view of
history, religion, and it's ultimate fulfillment.
The
industrial portion of my life has been a relatively recent education.
Along with copious research I have worked in industrial agricultural
in Arkansas, the oil fields in Texas and Louisiana, and in the
fabrication and manufacturing of wood chippers in Oregon. All of
which include the implementation of mammoth machinery, pervasive and
toxic chemical use, and the commodification of the living and of the
land for the sake of commercial enterprises and development for the
sake of development. The most obvious detrimental effects of this
type of land use is of course the effect on the land but less obvious
and just as detrimental is the effect of industry on the person both
individually and collectively. The machine determines the pace of
life and like it's effect on the land strips and toxifies the flesh,
the mind, our sense of being human, and being a fellow living being
in community with other non human beings. And again what I am most
impressed with is the utter devotion the
individuals employed in these industries show in their work. And
again they are not dense or evil people but a people devoted to a
vision they have knowingly chosen or accepted as the defacto way to
live.
What I
have found to be generally true in those who profess to desire an
alternative way of life is unchecked hedonism, an addiction to
immediacy, activism through “green” consumption, an unwillingness
to be uncomfortable and tired in their work, and most importantly an
unwillingness to see that we occupy these ideas from a position of
privilege and that such a precarious position allows for much
thought, much talk, much comfort, and little work. These faults are
general and are found in each individual to varying degrees at
certain times.
Both
the philosophy and theology of my upbringing coupled with practices
of our western economy as well my experience with others who share
these critiques has led me to attempt to find a different mode of
existence and different set of principles to aspire too. Not
exhaustive and without much explanation they are as follows:
- The Land is not a resource to be developed or used solely for human consumption but a network of living beings which thrive in balance with one another.
- Human action on the land should be guided by the above knowledge.
- Human beings are not exempt from natural law. Technological innovation will only temporally mitigate our indulgence and exacerbate the inevitable consequences.
- The needs of the machine and production are not paramount. To submit to or to allow others to oppress humans and non humans for the sake economic gain is to devalue all life and cheapen life to the point of making life unlivable.
- Happiness is found in a simple existence living softly and responsibly on the land.
- Technological efficiency is not to be valued over slow and mindful action.
- Those that seek a different form of existence must show just as much if not more devotion than those who currently propagate and progress the dominant culture.