Comments on: Living in the Age of Stupid or the Age of Compassion? http://myplasticfreelife.com/2009/09/living-in-age-of-stupid-or-age-of/ Think we can't live without plastic? Think again. In 2007 I committed to stop buying any new plastic & I've almost succeeded! Won't you join me? Let's see what plastic-free looks like in 2012... for the health of our bodies, our oceans, our planet. ~Beth Terry Fri, 17 May 2013 22:46:06 +0000 hourly 1 By: Kelly Coyle DiNorcia http://myplasticfreelife.com/2009/09/living-in-age-of-stupid-or-age-of/comment-page-1/#comment-34305 Kelly Coyle DiNorcia Sat, 07 May 2011 14:56:14 +0000 http://fakeplasticfish.com/2009/09/living-in-the-age-of-stupid-or-the-age-of-compassion/#comment-34305 Wow. Thanks for sharing. The movie really sounds like a drag LOL but such an important thing to see. It’s so true – we all live in this bubble where we have no idea what suffering people are enduring in other parts of the world. It is the people with the most money who feel it least, or at least last.

]]> By: Beth Terry http://myplasticfreelife.com/2009/09/living-in-age-of-stupid-or-age-of/comment-page-1/#comment-7406 Beth Terry Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:47:40 +0000 http://fakeplasticfish.com/2009/09/living-in-the-age-of-stupid-or-the-age-of-compassion/#comment-7406 Beth – brilliantly written and succinctly said. Will tweet it, and hope that others RT. I have continued to reduce my wants and needs over the years. We had these conversations when I was in college, which, sadly, was 40 years ago. And somehow, the greed has gotten worse, the exploitation of everything from people to animals to nature has expanded.

I have often joked that I "want to be God for an hour" — not as some grandiose delusion, but to just FIX some things. Go back in time when cars that run on water were invented (they still exist) and NOT allow GM to buy the patent and squash it. Go back in time to the Solar Power expansion and make that work. Take away the need of masses of insecure humans to believe "I have more than you, therefore I am better than you" is the best life plan… it goes on.

Yes, the whole planet is fixated on their 20 square feet. How can they have MORE? How can they buy MORE? Yet they don't know what they have at their fingertips. Thus the explosion of Storage companies. Let's buy MORE so we can stuff it in a storage unit. And they are blind to the miracle of a blade of grass, deaf to the sound of a baby bird, the hoot of a Great Horned Owl.

The gift of right now – of the mortgage meltdown, the economic collapse- may actually be the saving of the planet. People are starting to do with less and liking it. I've been selling off the few things I still have that I don't absolutely need, and it is liberating. Perhaps in this time we will be reminded what really matters. Unfortunately, we will first have to deal with the fear responses that people have. And that's the job of people like you and me, bloggers, readers, speakers — to assuage the fears and point them in a healthy direction.

All wars fought over oil. All this meltdown comes down to – oil. All plastics made – of oil. An odd center to human existence.

I share your frustration, but I don't know that the future in 2055 will look like that. Mom Nature knows how to clean house. And Clean House she will. It will not be pretty, but it may save what's left of the planet. After all, the planet was not made FOR humans. We are just part of the ecosystem. Let's hope the humans left after the housecleaning will be smart enough to create a viable planet going forward.

You do our name proud. Thank you for your compassion, your caring, your passion, and your articulation of problems that need to be out there.

Blessings,
The Other Beth Terry

]]> By: Su http://myplasticfreelife.com/2009/09/living-in-age-of-stupid-or-age-of/comment-page-1/#comment-7371 Su Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:20:00 +0000 http://fakeplasticfish.com/2009/09/living-in-the-age-of-stupid-or-the-age-of-compassion/#comment-7371 Thanks gang, thought that might be the case, couldn't keep myself from checking though. That said, what a great premise for this film. It would be great if it could be shown in our high schools and colleges.

]]> By: monkeyjen http://myplasticfreelife.com/2009/09/living-in-age-of-stupid-or-age-of/comment-page-1/#comment-7366 monkeyjen Sat, 26 Sep 2009 00:53:40 +0000 http://fakeplasticfish.com/2009/09/living-in-the-age-of-stupid-or-the-age-of-compassion/#comment-7366 Su,
I am afraid you are being overly sensitive. I hate to start dropping names here, but some of us actually know each other in real life. Beth and I are friends and though I now live in San Francisco, she knows that I am from NJ. I'm pretty sure she also knows her husband is from NJ. If that's not enough backstory… GARDEN STATE FOREVER!!!!!

]]> By: Fake Plastic Fish http://myplasticfreelife.com/2009/09/living-in-age-of-stupid-or-age-of/comment-page-1/#comment-7365 Fake Plastic Fish Sat, 26 Sep 2009 00:05:23 +0000 http://fakeplasticfish.com/2009/09/living-in-the-age-of-stupid-or-the-age-of-compassion/#comment-7365 Su, take a breath. monkeyjen75 is from New Jersey herself and was just having fun. No worries. :-)

]]> By: Su http://myplasticfreelife.com/2009/09/living-in-age-of-stupid-or-age-of/comment-page-1/#comment-7364 Su Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:22:06 +0000 http://fakeplasticfish.com/2009/09/living-in-the-age-of-stupid-or-the-age-of-compassion/#comment-7364 I hope I'm not being overly sensitive, but I felt I had to respond to the person who felt it necessary to denigrate the home of my beloved woodlands. I enjoy reading the posts and comments of fellow green-minded souls. Imagine how disheartening to be reading about the sorrows of our environment to come across a comment clearly suggesting the people from a certain state are less than articulate. I'm hopeful the stereotypical comment about people from New Jersey was from someone who was poking fun at their own residence in an urban section of New Jersey? That is a small part of our beautiful state; I hope other states are not similarly judged by the skewed portrayals the media chooses.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

]]> By: Lisa Sharp http://myplasticfreelife.com/2009/09/living-in-age-of-stupid-or-age-of/comment-page-1/#comment-7348 Lisa Sharp Thu, 24 Sep 2009 04:50:42 +0000 http://fakeplasticfish.com/2009/09/living-in-the-age-of-stupid-or-the-age-of-compassion/#comment-7348 I wanted to go to this so much but I don't drive and the people I knew would want to go with me couldn't go. I hope they put it on DVD!

]]> By: Clif http://myplasticfreelife.com/2009/09/living-in-age-of-stupid-or-age-of/comment-page-1/#comment-7347 Clif Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:13:37 +0000 http://fakeplasticfish.com/2009/09/living-in-the-age-of-stupid-or-the-age-of-compassion/#comment-7347 Suppose virtual worlds become so attractive that people prefer them to the natural world?

Instead of further increases in flying, driving, etc. there is a decrease as people prefer the sensations and virtual experiences they get synthetically?

Suppose that our insatiable desire for more of everything and endless novelty is what ultimately disables us from further harming life on the planet – as we stimulate our minds with an electronic world, voluntarily shutting ourselves away from the real one?

Pretty spooky! Try reading Exodus to the Virtual World The author's conclusion is not what I have just described but the book gives lots of food for thought on the subject you have raised.

]]> By: katiehippie http://myplasticfreelife.com/2009/09/living-in-age-of-stupid-or-age-of/comment-page-1/#comment-7346 katiehippie Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:45:53 +0000 http://fakeplasticfish.com/2009/09/living-in-the-age-of-stupid-or-the-age-of-compassion/#comment-7346 I wish they would show films like this in theaters. That way more people might be convinced they need to do something about what is happening to the environment. With just special screenings you run risk of "preaching to the choir" about climate change and damage to the environment. For those of us who don't live in a city, it's harder to get to see these kinds of things.
That said, it sounds like a great movie and I hope I get to see it. Thanks for letting us know about things like this and keep up the good work!

]]> By: monkeyjen75 http://myplasticfreelife.com/2009/09/living-in-age-of-stupid-or-age-of/comment-page-1/#comment-7345 monkeyjen75 Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:45:09 +0000 http://fakeplasticfish.com/2009/09/living-in-the-age-of-stupid-or-the-age-of-compassion/#comment-7345 What of the tourists from New Jersey??? Was it a lot of Bon Jovi and fuhgeddaboudit? You can't leave me hanging like that.

I PRESUME I will see you this Saturday. Is Michael coming? Come early, stay late. cya

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