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Page added on October 4, 2013
16 ways to avoid being a Transition hypocrite
Martin Heidegger was obsessed with authenticity. He viewed ontological anxiety as the impetus for authenticity — a way to move us through our conformity. For Heidegger, we were born into a world of quiet conformity. Initially, everything we do, say, think and believe has been done before.
The activities we regard as worthy of our time and effort (learning, work, play), the ultimate values and meanings we pursue (achievement, love, children), and the particular styles and forms through which we pursue these goals have all been provided by our various human cultures. He states that unless we find ways to wrest control of our own lives from society, all of our decisions will continue to be made for us by the unnoticed forces of the cultures in which we live.
That statement, naturally, leads him to question how we can extract ourselves from our conformity, rise above our enculturation. He asks, specifically, how is it possible to become more whole, centered, and integrated in a world that prevents precisely these qualities from emerging?
Yet, for all of Heidegger’s existential zeal, he couldn’t attain his own ideal of authenticity. Evidence of his not “wresting control of his own life from society” is his having joined the Nazi Party on May 1, 1933, ten days after being elected Rector of the University of Freiburg. Although a year later, in April 1934, he resigned the Rectorship and stopped taking part in Nazi Party meetings, he remained a member of the Party until its dismantling at the end of World War II.
So, the quest for authenticity — or, in more contemporary-speak, “walking the talk” — is not to be under-estimated. It’s real work. It requires showing up, taking responsibility and making some hard choices.
I don’t see enough of it, frankly, in the transition movement. It’s easier to “talk than walk.”
Theories are bounced around, facts cited, statistics quoted and pundits referenced. Doom sells newspapers, so to speak.
In Greek mythology, Thanatos was the demon of death who was associated with a variety of other Greek personifications, like doom, deception and suffering. In classical Freudian psychoanalytic theory, the Todestrieb or thanatos is the drive towards death, self-destruction and the return to the inorganic. This drive opposes eros, the tendency toward survival, propagation, and other creative, life-producing forces.
So, if we really believe that doom is a viable expression of the endgame, wouldn’t we try to resolve some of this thanatos by“wresting control of our lives” from an inherently sick society? Wouldn’t we want to resolve remnants of cognitive dissonance by making our day-to-day behaviors more congruent with our “talk”?
In that case, we would wrest ourselves away from:
- Clothing made in sweatshops
- Factory farmed, commercial food
- Flying in airplanes
- Big box stores that don’t pay living wages
- Eating and drinking items that come from thousands of miles away
- Using credit cards
- Driving our cars within bicycling/walking distance
- Watching television
- Using cell phones that have tracking capabilities
- Taking long, hot, daily showers
- Flushing the toilet every time we urinated
- Leaving lights on when we leave the room
- Accruing debt
- Buying things packaged in plastic
- Buying electronics that were made by out-sourced labor
- Being addicted to convenience and comfort
There’s more, but the above list gives you the idea. Because, as Heidegger reminded us, “unless we find ways to wrest control of our own lives from society, all of our decisions will continue to be made for us by the unnoticed forces of the cultures in which we live.”
– Sherry Ackerman, Transition Voice
7 Comments on "16 ways to avoid being a Transition hypocrite"
action on Fri, 4th Oct 2013 11:20 am
Hypocrite
1.somebody feigning high principles: somebody who pretends to have admirable principles, beliefs, or feelings but behaves otherwise
2. Sherry Ackerman
Another person making money off the collapse by writing books. If she’s as noble as she tries to come across as being, she would give away her knowledge for free. It’s all about the money.
J-Gav on Fri, 4th Oct 2013 11:45 am
Most people won’t change their consumer behaviors until they’re forced to by circumstances. Not out of the goodness of their heart, nor due to acknowledgement that we’re part and parcel of our (finite) biosphere, but because essential resources will be too depleted for BAU to continue.
bobinget on Fri, 4th Oct 2013 1:46 pm
Rather then avoidance of ALL of Ackerman’s don’ts
Why not start with the easy ones first.
For me that would mean:1, 4, 10, 11, 12.
Let’s call Mother Sherry’s Laundry Guilt list a noble effort. Only problem with guilt is we tend to sublimate
just because it will always interfere with #16.
BillT on Fri, 4th Oct 2013 2:52 pm
So far:
4,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,&13 have been mastered.
1,2,5,14,15,& 16 are more difficult, although, I am working on #16. ^_^
And #3 will be used every 16 months to renew my tourist visa here in the Philippines. Although my trip to the States is now alternated with a trip to Hong Kong, only 700 miles away, so that cuts my air miles by about 20,000 miles every 28 months. When my 88 y.o. Mother passes, I will not go back to the States at all.
GregT on Fri, 4th Oct 2013 4:02 pm
“Most people won’t change their consumer behaviors until they’re forced to by circumstances.”
Exactly.
A very large percentage of the Earth’s population already live without most of what is on this list. As our economies continue to be degraded from higher energy costs and resource constraints, more and more of us will be ‘forced’ to live with less and less.
Arthur on Fri, 4th Oct 2013 4:26 pm
1. people working in sweatshops need food as well
2. just fresh food from local butcher
3. Insane 7-leg flight to Maldives, 3 years ago, was the last time I flew. Hope to postpone my next flight as long as possible
4. people working in Big box stores need a living as well
5. Still buy bananas, mangos and sometimes wine from Australia, California and South-Africa
6. Hardly use a credit card as I hardly travel
7. My car broke down bigtime three months ago and I picked up the habbit of cycling again since. The car will be repaired next week, but I will keep cycling. Every half hour on a bicycle saves me from having to go to a gym
8. TV? Just the news and a German (Tatort) or Swedish (Wallander) detective in the weekend, nothing else
9. GPS enabled smartphone? I am still looking for a gathering of solid hardcore neo-nazis, just to tease the NSA. The trouble is, there aren’t any. Irrelevant.
10. Shower 5 minutes max.
11. Flushing the toilet… look, here in Holland too much water is the problem, not a shortage
12. Never have more than 1 light on (in the entire house) when I am IN a room. Last week I inquired about a smart meter from my utility company in anticipation of a solar installation, next spring. Slashing kwh’s from behind my computer is going to be my new hobby
13. I don’t know what debt is. I vaguely remember debt from my student days; that was once and never again. The .com fever evaporated the last part of my mortgage, 13 years ago.
14. It is impossible to buy things not packaged in plastic
15. Likewise electronics & out-sourced labor. The West designs and invents and the East produces
16. Nothing wrong with convenience and comfort
rollin on Sat, 5th Oct 2013 2:03 am
Choosing what you buy and what you use is important. Choosing a life that makes all those things irrelevant is priceless.