Remember when “green” was just a color?
When that happy little hue brought such delight to your life?
You know, that time before you were made aware of all its sundry shades of meaning?
… Before it was a term used to describe those of us who are covetously challenged?
… Before it described yourself on your first day of your very first job?
… Before it was synonymous with the Monopoly money we call the U.S. Dollar?
… Before…you get the picture, feel free to fill in your own blanks.
Yeah, those were the days. Naps, snacks and coloring time.
Innocence, ignorance, or naivety?
Call it what you will, I’ll call it bliss.
Undoubtedly, you’ve met people who have an uncanny ability to grow crazy amounts of food and flowers. You may have even said they have a “green thumb.”
Trust me, from one who has grown plenty of stuff in my life, my thumbs are more dark brown than green after playing in rich soil all day.
I think it is this last utilization for which the current and predominant use of the word is applied; the preserving and conserving of the environment.
“Go Green!” “Green Initiatives.” “Green Building.” etc. etc. are all synonymous now with being environmentally friendly and responsible.
To “Be Green” no longer implies that your wet behind the ears or a newbie. It doesn’t even mean that you are about to empty the contents of your stomach anymore. Now, when someone calls another person or thing as being “Green” it pretty much means that they are environmentally friendly.
Gone are the days of Green just being a color.
Don’t get me wrong or misunderstand me. Although I lament the hijacking of one of my favorite colors, I am all for being a good steward of the various resources surrounding me on this marvelous planet. Whether that be mineral, elemental, plant, animal, or human.
Obviously, not everyone agrees. Just go visit your local Dollar General and notice all the trash people leave laying around. That is the pollution that we can see! Imagine the carelessness of these same people in ways we can not see!
With the amount of education and indoctrination of eco-friendliness all around us it’s a wonder that more people just aren’t getting the message.
It is a message that needs to be heard! Well, sort of...
There is something seriously wrong with the current “green” movement that needs to addressed.
Although it’s intentions may be noble, at the heart of this movement lies a fundamental flaw.
I believe this flaw is the very reason why most people just aren’t getting the message, or at least not as loud and clear as they ought.
The flaw I speak of is this: divorcing care for humanity from the care of the environment. Humanity is part of the environment!
Modern environmentalism assumes that humanity is the cause of all environmental woes. They argue if only we eliminated humans then all environmental problems would be solved. I would argue that humans are part of the problem, but we also are part of the solution. In fact, as where the Green Movement views humanity as a disease that must be reduced, reused and recycled, I view humanity as the agents of the cure.
Ultimately destruction, wastefulness, carelessness and neglect all come from hearts that are only focused on themselves.
Corporations pollute and take advantage of people because they do not give a durn' about who or what they hurt. Individuals pollute and take advantage of other people because they don't give a durn' about who or what they hurt. All the woes of our world come from this myopic selfishness.
Self-centeredness doesn't look outside of oneself. Self-centeredness doesn't think about the future and what kind of legacy it will leave behind.
Self-centeredness only thinks of itself.
The solution, then, isn't in demonizing people by treating them as a disease but rather in helping them to live with a life of purpose that goes beyond themselves.
My friends, that's why I feel we need to be BLUER than green. We need to go beyond where the Green Movement has left us and find solutions to the problems we face by empowering one another to take responsibility. Not only for ourselves, but also for future generations. We need to encourage each other to Build Legacies Utilizing Earth's Resources.
In a future post I will explore what being BLUER means.