An End To Environmentalist Finger-Pointing
Becksta's recent article touches on an issue I've been thinking about for a while. There are two trends in the environmental movement which are going to have to stop if we want them to succeed. And we do want the environmental movement to succeed, right? Save the planet? We're all on board with this.
But what if the only way to save the planet was to stop shaking your finger at people who are doing the "wrong" thing? I don't half suspect that a lot of people would quietly drift out of the movement if we suddenly banned "feeling morally superior."
I talk to a lot of different kinds of people in the course of a day. And here's the thing we all have in common: we're all trying hard to do the right thing. Could we try harder? Sure. There is always room for improvement. And that's an issue that we should address with ourselves before we start pointing the finger at others.
But what if the only way to save the planet was to stop shaking your finger at people who are doing the "wrong" thing? I don't half suspect that a lot of people would quietly drift out of the movement if we suddenly banned "feeling morally superior."
I talk to a lot of different kinds of people in the course of a day. And here's the thing we all have in common: we're all trying hard to do the right thing. Could we try harder? Sure. There is always room for improvement. And that's an issue that we should address with ourselves before we start pointing the finger at others.