day seventy-nine - when is it time?
Back in early January, as our country was being ravaged by unprecedented bushfires, there was a lot of discussion on social media. Amongst all the generosity, the donations of time, money and resources, many people were calling for change, protests being organised - there was movement at the station so to speak.
But there were huge numbers of posts admonishing the discussion. Saying that we should be helping, not being keyboard warriors. Saying protests shouldn’t happen. Saying protestors were being selfish and diverting police resources (which coincidently were still seemingly happily diverted to various sporting events). Saying that this wasn’t the time.
This really made me feel very disempowered and frustrated. The world was going haywire, and there was this dissent towards people who dared to have the courage to try to stand up for what was right; to stand against ignorance and lies, to stand against people in power who were responsible for making decisions that had lead us down this path and were not doing an adequate job in the current situation.
It was not an either/or situation, as Paul Parker, a RFS volunteer from Nelligen, showed the nation and the world. I was thinking of all the people that would be protesting, would be commenting back on friends posts saying that “Greenies should be tied to trees”, or sharing links to peer reviewed climate science to counter wave after wave of, at best, ill informed propaganda - but instead, many of these people were busy volunteering or working on the front line in emergency services, fleeing for safety, or fighting to stop their communities from burning, or huddled awaiting naval evacuation on beaches surrounded by fires and choking smoke.
And now, as the world is in the grips of the coronavirus pandemic, it seems to be a pretty inappropriate time to be talking about climate change, catastrophic bushfires and their resulting effects on flora, fauna and communities. Yet it’s as critical to do so now as it was then. It just doesn’t seem right to talk about, because some of us have been able to move on, and the next thing is already upon us.
It’s this mentality that allows things to be swept under the rug, and the status quo to remain. It’s this mentality that condemns us.
Whilst it’s not on the same global scale as a pandemic or catastrophic climate change, there are parallels with mental health. Situations when there are issues that need to be dealt with at the time, not ignored and left to fester under the surface. Because when the next issue comes along, it’s all too easy for them to all compound, or be worsened by not having dealt with it at the time.
So. Talk. Talk now. Talk often. Stand up. Rise up. Be an advocate for yourself and others. If there’s a problem with the status quo, be that in your personal life, the global community, or anywhere in-between, deal with it now. Hold them, it, or yourself to account. Push for a resolution. Push for change. Because there’s always going to be a ‘next issue’, and often that’s used to get away with the ‘old issue’.
Kilt of the day - Mackay Tartan Sport Kilt
Soundtracks of the day - Rise Against - House On Fire (explicit lyrics)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DaR0GsFYVY
Rage Against the Machine - Wake up (explicit lyrics)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wauzrPn0cfg
Red Sky - Status Quo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOnZdxTXnCo
Link of the day - An address to the Prime Minister from Paul Parker, RFS Nelligen
