The Glass Is Refillable

The Earth looks so beautiful from space. Let's keep it that way.

The Glass Is Refillable

by C. A. Matthews

Most of us reach a breaking point at one time or another in our lives. There’s simply too much crap being thrown at us. We’re in pain both mentally and physically, and we’re long past the point of caring at work, school, or home. Since nothing is going our way, and it appears to be the last days of the Late Great Planet Earth, the urge to do absolutely nothing but tear down others who voice even an ounce of optimism is too tempting to resist.

So, we sit on our backsides and insult absolute strangers on the internet whenever they suggest possible solutions to our or the world’s problems. Simply put, we don’t want to hear that the glass is “half full.” Oh, no, no, no! We bitch up a storm and tear those faceless internet posters a new hole and make them feel as horrible as we feel, because we don’t have any optimism left when we’re in the midst of a breaking point.

Well, pardon me for breathing, but I think you actually can generate some enthusiasm for life even when the sh*t has hit the proverbial fan.

Optimism is Mother’s Nature way of keeping us alive and functioning and not wallowing in self-pity or destructive behaviors. Because while we’re wallowing, nothing is getting done, and we’re actually adding to our own problems as well as the planet’s. Screaming—or the online equivalent in all caps complete with asterisks and exclamation points—that the glass isn’t even “half empty” because it has been spilled and smashed into a million pieces only provides a mere nanosecond of relief. The pain inside remains.

 

The goal for intelligent, rational creatures is to rid ourselves of pain, not continually do things that ask for more of it. We are hardwired to take action to end the pain, and we can do so without killing ourselves or others. (Editor’s note: If you are feeling suicidal, in the US please call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. If you’re feeling homicidal, put all weapons out of reach, take a deep breath, and contact Emotion Anonymous to find a meeting near you.) 

Rash actions are often regretted and cannot be rescinded, but wisely planned and deliberate actions taken toward a reachable goal can ease our pain and provide possible solutions to the challenges facing us.

For all those who feel hopeless and see no way to fight against those who are destroying Earth’s biosphere, I feel your pain. Peter Kalmus, a NASA climate scientist, recently said in his keystone address at the Green Party Annual National Meeting how much it hurts him to see what’s happening in the world, too. He told us: “Don't lose hope—but don’t have false hope.”

This means we can’t deny what is happening any longer. We need to educate ourselves about the main causes behind the environment’s degradation. For example, we have to look at our outdated economic system. It is disheartening and maddening to watch heartless capitalists turn the precious planet we’ve come to know and love into one huge polluted cesspit for the sake of ever bigger profits for a tiny handful of billionaires. It makes no sense. Don’t these a-hole billionaires breath oxygen and drink water, too?

It's the senselessness of the mega-polluters’ stupidity that causes us the most pain. Their asinine and self-centered attitudes reveal the true cause behind these insanely short-sighted behaviors: they’re a-holes and selfish bastards.

There, I said it. Now, what do we do about the situation? Do we allow the super-wealthy to continue wallowing in their a-holery and selfishness?

Nah, that would be wrong of us. We want the sick-o billionaires to be happy and healthy functioning human beings, right? They can’t remain these hideous, soulless creatures, raping the planet of its natural resources, filling landfills and oceans with toxic wastes, poisoning life as we know it. It’s time to take action to turn the billionaires into actual human beings even if it impoverishes them in the process. It’s time to take away their power and their playthings and stop others from cooperating with them in the destruction of Earth.

How we go about this awesome feat depends on our own individual/personal philosophies. Some activists will take to the streets in protest and boycott products from countries that are greatly contributing to the biosphere’s demise. A great example of focusing attention (and possibly bringing about some real change) on how destructive the fossil fuel industry is to our environment is happening on September 17 at the March to End Fossil Fuels in New York City. 

If marching down Broadway while screaming at the billionaires doesn’t bring you out of yourself and generate renewed determination to become a doer and not just a wallower in your pain, please find someone to talk to, such as a professional counselor. Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness, and we need all the strong people we can get.

Environmental activism (protests, marches, sit-ins, demonstrations, etc.) can include resisting and preventing the growth of the military-industrial complex (MIC) and fighting for peace as well. The US military machine has not only killed millions of innocents, but it’s also the fifth most polluting organization in the world, ranking far ahead of actual countries.

Shutting down America’s endless wars for resources would help stop the MIC’s pollution, and it would also create friendlier conditions among nations to cooperate and fight climate change together. Once everyone is on the same page and talking to each other, without fear of having an American nuclear bomb dropped on them, it would go a long, long way in solving all our planet’s problems.

Isn’t it better to take the “half-full glass” of optimism and run with it than to throw the glass on the floor in a fit of existential pique?

Some activists will hack into banks’ and corporations’ computer systems and take the power away from those who do the most harm by financing the resource wars that increase pollution. Relieving billionaires of their wealth and redistributing it to those who are in need will end most social ills, too. Once income inequality is addressed many good things will fall into place. In the US that would mean the end of homelessness, health care for all, and free education from the youngest to the oldest of students. Solving those issues could lead to the end of racism and classism. Less pain for everyone!

Some activists feel more comfortable working “within the system” or at least attempting to overthrow the corrupt system from within. They put time and effort into electoral politics and assisting political candidates and causes. Is this the most effective use of their time, energy, and intellect? The jury is still out.

One thing's for certain, to sit around and scream obscenities online at those who are involved in the electoral process is definitely a waste of time, energy, and intellect. Acting like a “troll” online does not solve anyone’s problems, let alone the planet’s. It doesn’t meet the challenges of ending wars or fighting for the environment or preventing income inequality, for instance. Perhaps the people who have tough skin that can handle the media smears and nasty hit-pieces in the press about their characters while they run for office are the ones most capable of inspiring the majority of populace to take action.

Human beings need honest and hard-working leaders because the game of life is tough and the goalposts seem so far away. Let’s not run the worthy leaders off the field before they’ve had their chance to convince us otherwise. But let's not be afraid to expose and run off the dishonest and unworthy leaders, either. Perhaps a two-pronged approach of direct action as well as electoral action is the wisest route to take after all?

Many people think they have the sole responsibility to fix what all needs fixing in the world. But that’s not true. We’ve got to do it together or not at all. The “not at all” happens while we wallow and criticize others’ optimism and actions. It only adds to our “empty glass” pain.

Taking action by becoming an activist is one way to fight the pain in our hearts and the depression that clouds our thought processes. When you focus your energies toward a common goal—tackling climate change, for instance—then you’re no longer alone in your pain. You no longer have the time to wallow and criticize needlessly. You’re busy doing something worthwhile, and you’ll feel better about yourself and others.

At the very least, you’ll have more things to criticize later when you give activism up and go back to the wallowing and destructive behaviors. So, why not give it a try? You’ve got nothing to lose.

Remember, the glass may not be “half full,” but it isn’t “half empty,” either. The glass is refillable. We’re still here. The planet is still here. We need to get to work now. It may sound hokey, but tomorrow is another day. Let’s use our glass wisely and together.

 

Another way to look at the necessity of activism:

Nuclear brinkmanship. Yemen. Iraq. Starvation sanctions deliberately targeting civilians. Deliberately imposed poverty crushing people to death at home and abroad. Arming neo-Nazis, violent jihadists and right wing counterrevolutionaries in foreign conflicts to advance geostrategic interests. Police brutality. The relentless push for online censorship. The nonstop barrage of propaganda to manipulate our minds. The increasingly loud drumbeats for hot war with Russia and China. The ecocidal nature of global capitalism.

All of these things are profoundly horrific, but people don’t really see them, because they’re being conditioned to look past them.

Our task, then, is to get them to look. Really look, and really see. In this way we can actively abnormalize what has been normalized, one pair of eyes at a time.--Caitlin Johnstone, Abnormalize the Empire

Related Articles and Interesting Links

The March to End Fossil Fuels: https://www.endfossilfuels.us/ 

The Choice https://continuousrev.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-choice.html 

Suicide and Crisis Lifeline--Call 988 in the US and for more info:   https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/988-fact-sheet.pdf

Find a meeting of Emotions Anonymous (worldwide): https://emotionsanonymous.org/find-an-ea-meeting/general-information.html 

Montana Youth Turned The Tables And Won An Unprecedented Climate Victory https://popularresistance.org/montana-youth-turned-the-tables-and-won-an-unprecedented-climate-victory/

The Imperialist History Behind the Maui Fires https://www.leftvoice.org/the-imperialist-history-behind-the-maui-fires/

Environmentalists Owe An Enormous Debt To Julian Assange
https://popularresistance.org/environmentalists-owe-an-enormous-debt-to-julian-assange/

The Media’s Role In Criminalizing Climate Protest
https://popularresistance.org/the-medias-role-in-criminalizing-climate-protest/

Japan to release wastewater from Fukushima nuclear plant into Pacific Ocean https://www.nationofchange.org/2023/08/25/japan-to-release-wastewater-from-fukushima-nuclear-plant-into-pacific-ocean/

The U.S. Military Is Driving Environmental Collapse Across the Planet https://www.leftvoice.org/the-us-military-is-driving-environmental-collapse-across-the-planet/

How Ohio’s Chamber of Commerce Killed an Anti-Pollution Bill of Rights https://theintercept.com/2019/08/29/lake-erie-bill-of-rights-ohio/

Abnormalize The Empire https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/abnormalize-the-empire

Unipolar Hegemony Is A Freakish Historical Aberration
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/unipolar-hegemony-is-a-freakish-historical

Another Day, Another CIA Press Release Disguised As News
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/another-day-another-cia-press-release

97 Percent of UAW Workers at Big 3 Automakers Vote to Authorize a Strike  https://truthout.org/articles/97-percent-of-uaw-workers-at-big-3-automakers-vote-to-authorize-a-strike/

Double Punishment: California Prisons Set Up Thousands of People to be Detained and Deported by ICE—Including Citizens
https://scheerpost.com/2023/08/24/double-punishment-california-prisons-set-up-thousands-of-people-to-be-detained-and-deported-by-ice-including-citizens/

BRICS Doubles Share of Global Oil Production In Welcoming Six New Members at BRICS Summit in S. Africa
https://themcgwire.substack.com/p/brics-doubles-share-of-global-oil

Ukraine’s Counteroffensive Has Failed—It’s Time to Reevaluate
https://scheerpost.com/2023/08/26/ukraines-counteroffensive-has-failed-its-time-to-reevaluate/

Zelensky Cracks Down on Draft Dodgers, Forces Men to Fight & Die in This War https://scheerpost.com/2023/08/25/zelensky-cracks-down-on-draft-dodgers-forces-men-to-fight-die-in-this-war/

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