Damned if You Do, Damned if You Don't

So, I'm not even sure where to begin this thought, because it's not really presenting itself in linear fashion. I guess I'll start where it started for me today. I was listening to a podcast of a debate on climate change/globla warming (NPR: Intelligence Squared). One of the debaters contested that we shouldn't listen to the environmental alarmists because they don't even take their own advice: Al Gore still flies in a private jet, Sierra Club members are still on the coal-burning, pollution-ridden power grid, etc. The recent Live Earth concerts received a very similar treatment with complaints about all the artists being flown in, the massive crews, stages, lights, amplifiers, etc, which all meant that Live Earth concerts released incredible amounts of carbon into the air. Of course, it is worth noting that Al Gore and Live Earth organizers have made a serious effort to offset their carbon emissions by funding carbon fixing initiatives (carbon offset projects), though that is likely worth an entire discussion on some other day and blog.

I feel the thrust of this argument, and Lori and I struggle with it regularly. No one wants to be or support a hypocrite, who preaches a message with no pretense of practicing or internalizing it. However, I feel frustrated by those that make it, because it is usually made with an ignorance for the complexity of the situation. That is not to say that there are not hypocrites, but that we should be careful in making such an accusation. We never hold or pursue any ideal or value in isolation. So, therefore, though I value environmental responsibility and energy conservation, I also value saving for future investment, supporting social justice efforts, and purchasing good books, among other things which compete for the funds I might spend on making my life more energy efficient. I value time with my friends, time with my wife, and time for relaxation and meditation, all of which compete for the amount of time I might spend in projects to make my dwelling and life more energy efficient. I value as well . . .

I think you get the point regarding the competition of a variety of values in our live and I hope you see how this plays into my frustration with accusations of hypocrisy. One can earnestly believe in the extreme importance of environmentalism and conservation and yet that belief is limited by other things with one also believes are extremely important. How far can and should we go in pursuing our ideals and how do we balance those ideals both internally, that is, so that we can be decided for ourselves, and externally, that is, so that we can apply our personal stance effectively to our culture, society, and locality? This question is one that approaches more honestly the issue at hand.

I think that this kind of thinking is useful in application, not just to environment and conservation, but to any issue where we have to balance our values with our resources and the structure within which we must work. This brings me to another point on this line of thinking: We are not just constricted by our competing internal values and resources, but also by societal, cultural, and political structures and prejudices. Here, to me, is where the damned if you do, damned if you don't part of the issue, and where the rubber meets the road for my struggle with the issue of hypocrisy. You see, I know people that are not hypocrites of the kind this gentleman complained about in his argument. They have moved off the grid, gone ridiculously local, sought all kinds of alternative forms of energy, etc. Often this happens at the cost of their respectability and voice. People regard them with suspicion or as crazy hippies and often don't take the time to listen to what they have to say for their chosen lifestyle. In fact, I can hear and have heard people who make complaints of hypocrisy, then make derogatory comments about the people who are living out the lifestyle based on what they are arguing against. It's a comment along these lines: "Look at that environmental activist hypocrite talking about conservation and preservation while he flies around in a private jet, and can you believe that weirdo hippies and nerds he hangs out with. Damn communists." It is difficult to desire to live according to one's convictions when those convictions go against the social norms held tightly by one's society.

As I said, this is where the rubber hits the road for Lori and I. It is interesting to discuss our choice to enter the Peace Corps with folks who think that we should have more ambitious aims for our lives. We are frustrated at having to choose between graduate school, and the debt it brings and time it takes, and pursuing our dreams and values. It is an ongoing struggle for us and I'm sure for almost everyone to seek to live in a world that is seldom organized in a way that is consistent with our own internal priorities and values. Such is the work of life, I suppose . . .