Prompt for final reading in Getting a Grip and an interesting upcoming event from earth.350

I'm going to give you a few quotes that you can choose to reflect on using other parts of the text, as always, to support your point and also, hopefully, using examples from your experience this semester. You can chose to use these prompts or, of course, any other textual points/concepts that you want.

1. A rude shock or dissonance--may be telling us that something important is happening--that is not as negative as it feels. Noticing our fear and discomfort may help us to grow, stretch, learn:

"'Seize the moment' typically refers to a positive moment of opportunity, one not to be wasted. . . but [it dawned on me] that such a moment can come as a disconcerting shock, dissonance that might not feel good at the time. It is in these precious moments –when something shakes up us, rattling us from our resignation or depression, or galvanizing that vague sense that there must be more to life ––that we can break free of the cycle of fear" (161). (Or, if you don't see yourself as having been in that cycle, this is a moment that informs you, period.)

2. Lappé was never saying that her message was one of lack and scarcity of power, instead, in the beginning of the book she was laying out, a "dangerously false premise" (178), a message that many of us receive on conscious and unconscious levels everyday that can rob us of our power and our desire to act (those of you who have remained untouched with power/sense of self intact, I am envious! If you don't see that any of this is true for your experience, then pick another quote). Now towards the end of the book, she writes:

". . .the most debilitating piece of the scarcity message is its insistence on the lack inside of us. A constricted self-concept drives the dominant worldview, reinforced not only by dominant political and economic theory, not only by incessant corporate advertising, but also by strains within many religions. . . From this premise of lack we are finished. We end up locked in a belief system that actually creates the very scarcity we fear. . . we're vulnerable to simplistic social dogma ––to 'isms' encouraging us to turn over our fate . . . Our planet's survival therefore depends onwhether we can break free–– whether we can affirm not the goodness of human nature. . . but the richness in human nature." (179-180).

3. Contradiction: knowing=not knowing=knowledge/power=humility of not knowing= freedom to act:

"Real humility, I now see is admitting that it is not possible to know what's possible. And if this is true, we are free to go for the world we really want, unhindered by the false idea that we should calculate action based on probabilities of success" (217).

Please remember that all of these prompts and weekly assignments are also aimed at helping you write your final integrative paper. You have a body of work to now look back and draw on as you think about the shape and direction of that culminating paper. You might want to go peek at the assignment on your syllabus or on moodle so that you begin to be clearer about where we are headed.

Unrelated to prompt: here's the interesting event I mentioned in the title:

Cooking your food with the sun in South Africa

Imagine if you used the sun to cook your food instead of using the electricity or gas? Well, in the sunny balmy climate of Cape Town South Africa they are doing just that! On November 27, 2010, 1,000 people will sit down for a meal together that will be cooked exclusively with solar cookers. But before the community sits down to feast they will engage in an intergalactic photo shoot. They will create the above image out of the solar cookers and will have a 59 second window where the design will be photographed from a passing satellite.

People all over the world are joining this event in South Africa by donating $150 to buy a large solar for this event and as a permanent solution to carbon reduction in the Khayelitsha neighborhood of Cape Town.

Here is the deal in Khayelitsha, many residents do not have access to electricity and those who do generally can’t afford more than the government’s Basic Allowance of 50kW per month, which seldom lasts more than a couple of weeks. The rest of the month, and those households without electricity, people end up cooking with parffin, scraps of wood or other flammable and carbon-intensive materials. Energy is also very expensive in South Africa. The NGO, South South North, estimates that in neighborhoods like Khayelitsha 25% of a families income is spent on energy service. These cookers are an immediate and critical solution to the energy crisis in this community that also helps to relieve the financial struggles of local families.

Please email heather@350.org if you are interested in donating to the solar cooker project or would like more information.

This project is being organized by the Canary Project, an arts collective that has been producing art and media that deepen public understanding of climate change since 2006, as well as several South African NGOs.

November 6th, 2010 |

From Pedro: Empathy and Power

Chapter five begins talking about the word power, similar to the previous book that we read. I noticed that the first thing to pop into my head when i heard the word power was wealth. An older person with a nice suit on driving around in a nice car, and having a lot of money of course. The word power has a negative connotation to it when you think about it, but then as i kept reading the chapter i realized everyone has power, and if used correctly could make the world a better place. The power of influence.

The most interesting part i found in the chapter was the study in the 1990's that they did on monkeys. It said that "neuroscientests were studying the brain activity of monkeys, particularly in the part of the brain's frontal love associated with distinct actions, such as reaching or eating. They saw specific neurons firing for specific activities. But then they noticed something they didn't expect at all: The very same neurons were fired when a monkey was simply watching another monkey perform the action" (119). They are called "mirror neurons" and it is pretty amazing to think about. This means that by simply observing another person do something you can experience what they are experiencing. Humans have the ability to empathize, and this also brings the power of influence. I never really thought about it but my mom was right when she told me to set a good example for my brother because he looks up to me and i influence him. Therefore, when used in a postive way, this power can really do some good for our world. I never saw the word power in this light and it is very interesting. I know there are people that i look up to who influence me like my mom and dad. Their influence and actions have helped shape me into what i am today, and not just them, my friends as well. "We can be certain that our actions, and perhaps our mental states, register in others. We change anyone observing us. That's power" (120). Amen.

Changes.

In our society, government has always been a huge taboo. They are the cause of all problems and constantly making the problems worse. We in turn, are hushed by government making it impossible to produce any change at we actually want. Well, that is what we are taught to believe. “The maddening irony is that those who scare us with the threat of Big Brother government are to often the same people who cut back essential government services and turn them over to private interests… thus making government scary.” (page 81) The reason government is scary to us is because we really are never in control. We might think that our ideas are going to change something at some point but I have yet to see the real change. This is when we need to step up and make our needs even more heard. Maybe even change from neighborhoods, to towns, to cities, to states and so forth. The only change we can make the notice is that change we make ourselves. Such as “think local, buy local, be local.” (page 97) This is a perfect example of helping the local businesses and also help change the impact of the global crisis. This has been noticed by the local community but also on the national scale. Change is possible, if and only if, we work together and have a plan that begins operation in the smallest of area. Educate, think openly, live to better everything. This has also been seen in school programs. This is even better because people always learn more when they are experiencing it. Plus it is the students that are making the change. “Students are gaining ground in holding school administrators accountable for buying products only from companies that play fair with their workers. “(page104) We are young and have ideas to help the world, so lets do it!.

from Amber. . .

POWER; a word that many are afraid of and others take advantage of. I believe that majority of the world takes this word too lightly and the other percent takes the word to the extreme. Power is an extremely beautiful thing and can be overlooked or turned into something ugly, causing the many that's afraid of the word to feel powerless and creating a manipulative meaning for those to walk all over the word. Everyone holds power in many different ways. Lappe' expresses that, "Power is an idea."(122)I agree. I believe that power is the idea of many things. It is the idea of overcoming, idea of being on top, idea of change, idea of freedom, idea of plenty more; which is always great until taken to the extreme and wanting to hold too much of it. In my opinion, no one should have too much power; too much of anything is never good. This is when and why power can be viewed as negative.

The original meaning is, "to be able". (118) This definition says a lot by itself. It lets me know that power exists in all forms seen and unseen. Everyone is able to do something which gives everyone power, this is why in the last blog I disagreed when she mentioned, "We feel powerless". We might feel powerless but, there is a form of power we all overlook; silent power. Power doesn't have to exist as big; power can be as little as overcoming internal obstacles. It's based on intention not just action to me. It’s much bigger than we think, but the world sees differently. Here in the U.S it seems as though the wrong things create power, such as money, talent, fame, winning, etc, but honestly those are the things that make no difference to me. Why should money or fame make one feel better than another? Those are both things that won’t even last for long. It can be gone in a blink of an eye, so why do we think such things and give in to such things; just an example.

One thing I do agree with is that, "Power is necessary to produce changes I want in my community."(117) We are given plenty opportunities to create change and even when not given openly we still have the power to do anything to keep evolving. Power is in every individual’s hand.

Aladdin vs. Jafar

In the Disney movie Aladdin, Jafar plays the villain who sought the power of a genie for his own personal gain. He wanted to be king while having the power of a genie so that the people would fear him. He was willing to do anything to obtain the power of a genie and in his quest; he sacrificed people to obtain the magic lamp that held the genie. Jafar is a prime example of what power is: scary, intimidating, controlling, and strengthens people at the expense of others (122). Power is something that is usually interpreted as something that is bigger than any single man or woman. Power is normally negative but it can be a positive. Power should be defined by the man or woman that possesses it. In the hands of the right person, power is not negative but a positive that can bring meaning to a person’s life. Not so much of negative when I put it that way now is it?

When power is used correctly and for the right reasons, the Aladdin character come out of the best of us. Aladdin is the type of character that uses power with responsibility and positivity. He gave the genie his freedom and he used it for love (balance of power and love = “good guy of the movie”). Aladdin is exactly what power can be for people today: freeing, collaborative, and derived from relationships, knowledge, experience, vision, and discipline (122

We have to know where we stand on power. As of now, in regards to this class, I am trying my best to be Aladdin because the efforts I am making is definitely not for my own benefit. Of course I have had my benefits from this class (reading ingredients like CRAZY) but the greatest part I took from this class was spreading what I know. Whenever I come home, I’m always sharing what I learn in this class with my friends and family because they can relate to the topic of food. I hope I’m not alone in being Aladdin on this magic carpet ride we call our colloquium class. We all need to step up because if you’re taking all we learn and doing absolutely nothing with it, the only thing keeping you from being Jafar is that you don’t have powers of a genie.

The unfiltered reality

I am but a number. My name being the product of circumstances I could not control. I live in a world built by the ambitions living. There are a million problems in the world and I feel apathetic, because those issues seem irrelevant. At times I feel indifferent about my own issues because I don’t think it is worth it. I currently serve a role as a student in the world; not only in the classroom, but in life. I am constantly learning new things, but I am frustrated when each individual answer triggers several questions. Accepting the hard truth is like swallowing a cup of nails, because even when I feel that I am finished I still have to deal with the scars. I feel that I have to live some of these hard truths with a chaser because they are strong by themselves. We see reality through frames of meaning that we create, so there is no unfiltered reality for us (25). As is commonplace I have several aspects in my life that allow me to look past some my tough realities, because as long as we are convinced we have no power, it will always seem negative (117). My friends and family have been a driving force behind the self-confidence that has defined me among those who know me. What makes reality difficult is the fact that it can turn for the worst without warning and it doesn’t respond to criticism. What has made life tough for me is that even when I feel I have taken a big step I still have to look up and see a road that extends beyond the horizon.

One Choice We Don't Have

For this week's reflection, I wanted to take the time and reflect about one choice we don't have.  This is one of the sections in our book.  "We have no choice about whether to be world changers" (118).  This quote from the book was very interesting to me.  This is true because people have to be world changers.  That is one choice that we don't have.  Later on in the section, Lappe says that "the choice we have is not whether, but only how, we change the world" (119).  This makes perfect sense because the world does not change on its own.  People can't just sit around and do nothing with their lives because our lives and our world do not gain anything from it.  Some people may thing we have that choice whether or not we should be world changers by simply doing nothing with our lives.  What they don't understand is that they are changing the world by starting a trend that people in the world.  For example, if I kid decides that he wants stay at home, then his or her friends would just end up staying at either their own homes or going to each others homes to hangout.  Another example that specifically applies to our class is the obesity rates in children being high.  According to kidshealth.org, 1 out of 3 kids are now obese or overweight.  This is because kids now a day would rather stay at home with their friends and play video games instead of go outside and exercise.  This is just an example that explains how what we do changes our world today.  There is one thing that we need to know.  We can't stop changing the world.  Each decision we make changes the world and the world will not stop changing.

Life's Tough

Life is tough. We all have our own difficulties and we all face the struggles of our own power and love day after day. I know, even in my own twenty-one years of life, have faced many tough times along with good times. One of the major influences that all people can agree to disagree upon is the rules and the democracy by which we are all overruled upon—the one set of rules that we as citizens of the U.S. must abide by. The government influences us all, and we all are ruled by the government—whether we agree with it or not. Lappé conveys, “Citizens are made to fear that going for what they desire and know is right, like ending poverty and rescuing the environment, would unleash the big, bad state” (80). We all empower ourselves with our desires and the things we like and want to accomplish.
Personally, I have dealt with many struggles in my life, and have been caught between making decisions best for me, that have also been complicated by the rules that override me. For example, for the past three years, I have been a year long Student-Intern Technical at an Aerospace company in Southern California. I carry very top United States clearances and have to keep very secure secrets for the safety of the company, as well as the country. My job is within engineering--engineering a plane that will drop bombs, that we also make, over another country in war. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job and am very blessed for the opportunity I carry. It is even something I plan to do after graduation. Yet, I am sometimes caught in the middle between my corporation’s opinions, and my own personal opinions. I believe, and will admit, that I don’t believe we should be in war, and we should change that (but it’s not like I can say this in front of my boss!). Although I have my own desires and things I want to accomplish in my own life, along with those things I want to do to influence the world, I am a little held back by this position that I carry within the company, because I will forever be followed by this job.
Job or not, I will, along with many others are going to be held back by “the man” i.e. an important figure that holds all of the rules. It is a struggle that we all must accept, along with life not being fair. We need to abide by these rules, or else we will all perish and the state, country, and even our future will fall apart.

Local Reflection

Like the author of Getting A Grip 2, our class exposes us to so many issues in the world. We cover issues such as nutrition to power within the world and within ourselves. The word “power” has a different meaning to me after reading our last book; it seem like a word we always go back to when discussing other issues. Power is the main source for problems, because most of the time is it not balanced. In an inaugural address by Ronald Regan, he says that, “‘Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem, […].’ Citizens are made to fear that going for what they desire and known is right, like ending poverty and rescuing the environment, would unleash the big, bad state (80)”. Often times this is the case, we are afraid to speak up for what we believe so we just go with the “flow”. Until we can gain power, we will always feel helpless.

This class draws on a variety of issues that I do not feel like they apply to me and it is hard to accept the ideas that are out there. However, I have learned to acknowledge that they are there and that it is okay for me to not agree with them. I think that the world has many issues that need to be resolved, but we cannot tackle all of them at once. We should solve them one at a time, before picking at newer issues. This class is a perfect example of this, we came into class with so many ideas and problems with our community that we want to fix, but we narrowed down our focus, which is educating our neighbors about gleaning and exposing high school students to issues with the food programs. We were successful, because one, we worked together for a common good and we had a goal.

Besides dealing with world hunger and such issues in class, I do not think I am involving myself with similar issues out of class. I am distracted by education and in the process of finding my position in the world, which should make me more aware of it, but it is not. The more I learn in this class, the more I find myself in denial of the truths. I feel like I do not want reality to settle in just yet, because I am afraid of having to deal with them when I am on my own after graduation.