activism is medicine

gratitude and appreciations

Activism may well be therapeutic and even medicinal, but it’s not an easy life. Every day brings a new round of exposure, stress, and ambiguity, but that’s just the beginning. We engage as best we can and fight the good fight, but we often feel a sense of isolation, loneliness, and alienation from the cultural mainstream; we stand unappreciated and sometimes even reviled on the fringe of society.

On some days it feels like we’re surrounded by legions of dedicated inactivists, people who haven’t yet had their encounter with The Knowledge, or having had the encounter, opted for disengagement and irrelevance. Content with their lives as is, they don’t really give much thought to the future or the planet. Like dinosaurs on that fateful day some 65 million years ago, they aren’t much inclined to look up, much less take up the fight.

To make matters worse, those around us are often quick to shoot the messenger; to discount, ignore or abuse anyone who speaks the inconvenient truths of our world. And on the rare occasions when we’re actually listened to, we’re dismissed out of hand as Cassandras (from Greek mythology, a Trojan priestess fated to utter true prophecies but never to be believed). Along the way, we also come to the disturbing realization that many people feel threatened and intimidated by our very existence. The mere presence of activism in the world implies that others aren’t doing enough, aren’t being enough. And no one wants a buzzkill at their party.

It’s an eerie, exhausting sensation and on some days we might even wish we’d never bothered to become aware of our predicament in the first place. Ignorance might not actually be bliss, but it would be nice to feel culturally “normal” and included on occasion. Things might be easier to bear, for a while at least.

But sometimes we get lucky. Every now and then, we bump into the wise ones, people with their lights on, people who do their homework and live with a commitment to relevance and engagement. In my life, I’ve been radically fortunate to run into two such individuals: John Hagar and Jonathan Logan, kindred spirits and colleagues in Activism is Medicine, teachers and senseis both.

Powerful inspirations and support have also come my way from Rodney King, Corey Jung, Steve Myrland and Kellie Murphy, Guy McPherson, Michael Dowd, Louie and Gerlinde Gelina, Susan Fahringer, Jill Stephenson, Alessandro Pelizzon, Jeremy Lent, Paul Landon, Steve Laskevitch and Carla Fraga, Sebastien Alary and Anne Smith, Derrick Jensen, Max Wilbert, Skye Nacel, David Kopacz, Pete Karabetis, Michael Campi, Barb Moro and Diedre Knowlton, Dana Lyons, Amelia DuBose and all the youth climate activists in Bend, OR.

And most of all, the love of my life, Sue Schwantes.

Thank you all for keeping me whole.