Let me begin with two utterly unrelated quotes from two recognizable individuals. Neither concern environmentalism, nor where they directed at each other. Yet, for the sake of my argument, allow me the small privilege of perverting the context in order to make my point. In 1983, at Mills College in California, Ursula K Le Guin delivered a commencement speech in which she addressed the difficulties faced by women in a world dominated by men. Frustrated and disenfranchised with what she viewed as a grim, hopeless future for the fairer sex of humanity, it was Ursula K Le Guin who famously proclaimed: "I hope you are never victims, but I hope you have no power over other people. And when you fail, and are defeated, and in pain, and in the dark, then I hope you will remember that darkness is your country, where you live, where no wars are fought and no wars are won, but where the future is."
It was Mr T who said: "I pity the fool."
In 2011 the United States is a nation of enviable affluence and prodigious consumption. In a little over 230 years we have become the most powerful nation in the world. Policies that safeguard the principles for which such activists as Martin Luther King Jr and Ursula K Le Guin championed are now institutionalized into the fabric of employment regulations and company values. Of course, the United States is far from perfect, but for all practical purposes (and pending a few other factors) a middle class citizen of the red white and blue may reasonably expect to live a comfortable, untroubled life. The great struggles between races, classes, and genders are now behind us, and having weathered the storms of prejudice and ignorance we are now a more content, more stable, and more just nation as a result. And so, in responding to the dilemma to which Professor Maniates has alluded, the essential problem is not that this is a nation of failure or success, but rather that we have evolved into a nation of complacency.
Yes, I am afraid it's true. The great challenges of our past are no longer accessible to us in the present. Life is too easy and pleasant for the majority of us to be able to understand the true meaning of sacrifice. Our complacency is what has slowly eroded the determination in our collective mentality. To illustrate, let me highlight two distinct nations. The first nation is the United States in 2011. A few examples: In combating such obstacles as obesity, individuals continue ordering large diet sodas. Instead of lifting weights there are now machines that are designed to burn fat calories simply by holding them in one's hands. Credit agencies offer deceptively low rates for financing expenditures, enabling individuals to consume beyond their means. Rather than make any meaningful sacrifice, individuals in the US seek the path of least resistance. These "innovations" took creativity, work, and motive, yet the end result is simply one that removes human commitment from the equation. The second nation, the United States during World War II, offers a different observation of Americans. During that time period, young men and women from all classes, racial backgrounds, and occupations discontinued their work and joined a national movement that became one of the great eras in history. After selflessly putting their careers on hold, they traveled thousands of miles away from their homes to places they had never seen to fight on behalf of people whom they had never met. There were individuals younger than I am now in command of warships and battalions who saved the lives of others. When the war was over, these individuals quietly returned home and started families, seeking modest homes and livable salaries, a stark contrast to the mansions and bonuses that are idolized in mainstream culture today.
Beyond underscoring the need for fundamental change in characterizing deteriorating environmental conditions, Professor Maniates' article reminds us that, as both individuals and as a nation, we are capable of monumental and far reaching actions that can dramatically improve the society in which we live. Throughout history, we have proven that very notion countless times. The difficulty is not framed in terms of the extent to which we are capable, but rather of the feasibility of mobilizing our capacity to meet new, unprecedented challenges at a time of increasing internal apathy. It is not that these problems outweigh our ability to develop innovative, meaningful solutions; it is that the nature of these problems and the means to address them require radical adjustments to our comfortable lifestyle. This new challenge will not be fought with tanks and guns but rather by rational re-evaluation of consumption habits and resolute commitment to reducing waste. For this to occur, what the US needs most is its rallying call.
When Le Guin delivered her commencement to Mills College she was speaking about the constraints imposed on women in a male-dominated society. When Mr T delivered his famous line he was referring to his upcoming boxing match against Rocky Balboa. Context aside, the nation that Le Guin dismissed as a dark, painful, hopeless country remains capable of exceptional (and sometimes disturbing) achievement. GDP stands at 14.2 trillion USD, US popular culture has permeated every part of the globe, and US remains a "land of opportunity" to millions of hopeful, hard-working immigrants arriving each year. Multinational corporations such as Coca Cola have been so successful in product distribution that there are now Coca Cola products in areas that still lack sanitary sources of water. Militarily, the US operates the most powerful force in the world, maintaining bases and fleets across the globe (despite local opposition in some cases). The capital ships of other nations, which usually number just one, are dwarfed by the super carriers of the US Navy, which has 11 of them (and is planning another ten). Regardless of the moral ramifications of these examples, they do provide a compelling illustration of US capabilities. Imagine what could be accomplished if the energy and time that went into building military assets or developing industries was instead redirected toward exploring more efficient ways to reduce pollution and waste.
During its brief time as a global polarity, the US has experienced its greatest generation of heroism, followed by an emerging generation of apathy two generations later. Now, having swung full circle, it is again time for an age of activism and personal responsibility. It is my hope that the call to arms of Professor Maniates and others like him will be able to reinvigorate the United States to once again display its august abilities, and to follow through accordingly with meaningful ways to address the looming challenge of climate change.
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