Christian Gun Owners?

There are a great many mysteries of life that i do not understand.  One of the most prominent in my mind lately is the idea of Christians with guns. i sincerely do not understand the reasoning that causes this overlap of two seemingly opposing things. Really.  i truly do not understand.

Anecdotaly, the majority of people in my life who own guns are Christian.  Overwhelmingly. In many cases they are also my most vocally Christian acquaintances. Now yes, i do realize i live in a primarily Christian country and for the sake of logic i also want to acknowledge that this in no way means the inverse is true - that most Christians own guns. Far from it.

My utter confusion stems from my understanding of Christ.  I cannot imagine the Jesus i was raised on in an Irish Catholic family, ever owning a gun. (Yes i know there were no guns back then but you get the point wise-ass) Nor can i fathom Him condoning gun ownership. The guy who turned the other cheek? The guy who preached love thy neighbor? Come to think of it, He also said to give up all possessions, and as far as i can tell a gun is a possession. Or let us go all Old Testament - is not a commandment Moses hiked down the mount with "Tho shalt not kill"?

i know plenty of Christians who use birth control (although this was never mentioned in the Bible, more of a Papal decision) and there are countless religious decrees that most followers do not abide by but i kinda feel like this is a pretty big one.  i mean, it is supposedly carved into stone.

Also, JC wasn't into the whole "self defense" thing. Remember that being crucified thing? Not only did He not fight back, not only did his Father not fight back, but He commanded his disciples and follows not to draw their swords or interfere in any way. As far as pacifists go He even makes Gandhi kind of look like he half-assed it.

Shouldn't the Christian churches of our country be calling out for an end to all the violence in our country and calling for gun control? How can one wear the symbol of the Prince of Peace around their neck and yet posses an instrument who's only purpose is to kill? How can one sing (praying twice after all) "let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me" on Sunday then walk around town all open carry? It may just be the St Francis in me but i'm going to call bullshit on this one.

i acknowledge that religion is not necessarily meant to be taken literally. These are guidelines to living in our crazy world. But when liberties are taken every day from the pulpit about interpretations of what people think Jesus would do, i am pretty sure that the gun issue is truly a black and white assumption here.

Isn't the pursuit of spirituality supposed to raise us all up? Make us better people? Help in the quest for inner peace? Tightening your grip on guns (or the idea of guns) is tightening your grip on history, stubbornly holding onto personal comforts. Embrace the future with a hope of optimism. Welcome a chance at a more peaceful existence. How could any other step seem more Christ-like?

Forks and Why Your Opinion Doesn't Matter

It's easy to say that the internet has opened up a world where everyone feels like their opinion has merit and deserves to be heard, but i'm pretty sure people (especially Americans) have been super fucking opinionated from jump street. Comment sections and FaceBook have just made us more painfully aware of more people's opinions than ever before. Ten years ago i had no idea if that guy i knew back in high school who never went to college or even moved out of our home town had a strong opinion about our country's foreign policy. Now, regrettably i do and i've had to unfriend a lot of folks who, lets face it, weren't really my friends to begin with.

Why write a blog about this?  Two reasons: first, a blog it CLEARLY the best format for complaining about people expressing their opinions online. Imagine some clever one-liner here regarding fighting fire with fire or some other bullshit old line used as a shortcut to thinking.  Second: in a battle of facts vs opinion, facts should always win just as rock always beats scissors, but for some screwed up reason my fellow Americans seem to continually want to yell that scissors wins when they're the ones who throw scissors - as if volume matters.

i'm going to try and break this down for the lowest common denominator since those who understand facts don't really need to learn this lesson.  Imagine you're at some big family dinner.  All the extended fam is there, cousins you've never seen before, and some weird family "friends" that you're not sure which family member they're actually friends with. The whole tables pushed up against tables with a card table thrown in the mix scenario, full to the brim.

You're Aunt, who let's face it probably came over drunk, has been pulling out wine corks all meal and now as dessert rolls out she holds up her dessert fork as asks "how many prongs does this have?"

Everyone at the table pronounces that there are four prongs, except for that weird uncle who used to chew the lead based paint off the windowsills before he was dropped on his head several times by your grandma.  He yells "FIVE!"

In this scenario the bar is pretty low in terms of level of knowledge needed to be a contributing participant.  Pretty much you just need to be able to count. You can do that without even being able to see, you can feel how many there are. Language and culture are not determining factors as even someone who has no idea what you do with a fork can still tell you "four" in their own native tongue.

There are four prongs.  The fact that your uncle with two brain cells that are fighting has a differing opinion is of no consequence. He can't count so he opinion does not matter.  He doesn't deserve equal air time on your local news station, the First Amendment doesn't mean that his opinion deserves to be respected, and he is not allowed to be used as a reputable source indicating that there is a debate to be had.

Things like favorite color, best ice cream flavor, most beautiful hair color are all things that are personal preferences and things that you, by all means, can have an opinion on. Facts are not things that you can have an opinion on. If you think so, you are just wrong - and that is a fact. Freedom means that people can think all kinds of weird shit and believe all kinds of fuck up stuff. That's just some of the messy nature of freedom.  The problem is when you start having people acting on those incorrect premises.

The beauty of science is not only the underlying respect of facts and truths but also the idea that decisions should be made by those most knowledgeable in the given field. Biologists and astrophysicists may be consulted about the probability of life on a given planet but no one cares what a meteorologist thinks in this case. No one is going to ask a geologist for rocket propulsion advise and who cares what an evolutionary biologist has to say during the construction of a supercollider. Those in the best position to make an informed and educated decision are yielded to by other scientists. Scientists also tend to look to other scientists in varying field when seeking answers to desired questions. When i have a DNA question i ask my biologist friends.  Want to know how deep a canyon in from a bridge? Drop a rock with a physicist and they'll be able to tell you by timing the fall and simple calculations in their head.

So why are there far too few a situation in our world in which facts and those in the best position to make informed decisions seems to be the basis of policy and action? When scientists tell you that climate change is happening, it's happening. Almost all decisions in America are made by elected officials with law degrees. Parents are choosing to not have their kids vaccinated because of what some surgically altered centerfold tells them. Girls don't have smaller brains. If someone has a different skin, hair, or eye color than you it's just because of pigments, nothing else is different.

If you cannot support your opinion with actual facts and truths than your opinion is wrong. The only correct thing to do in these cases is to sit back and let the most knowledgeable group of people on the given subject figure shit out. Then, do what they recommend! This would make the world a better place indeed.

Santa Claus and Deductive Reasoning

i have long held that i was actually born with a static maturity level. The maturity level that i was born with, will die with, and currently posses is exactly the same.  As a child i appeared extremely mature, but the older i get the less mature i seem every year. Currently at middle age, it would seem that i am just going to get more and more childish compared to my peers. If i survive long enough, i am going to a terror around the old folks home.

i bring this up because i have been thinking a lot about Santa this holiday season.  All this Santa talk got me thinking about how i discovered that there was no Santa (spoiler alert... too late?). This has also got me thinking about the ramifications of all the lies our society tells children, especially the ones that are told knowing full well that they one day will learn the truth.  Exhibit A: Santa Claus.

The idea of a chivalrous code of conduct steering one's daily behavior has been a strongly appealing concept to me for as long as i can remember. Jedi, superheros, monks, and especially knights in shining armor all led lives that i admired. i could take my parent's bathrobes and pretend i was a Jedi or monk, i had plastic capes left over from past Halloweens in Superman red and Batman blue, but there was just never enough foil on those aluminium foil rolls in the kitchen to fashion myself an adequate suit of armor (i'd just end up with my arms covered, an empty roll for a sword, and an extremely angry mum).

Although clearly imaginative, i was also the son of an engineer who honored Spock's logic therefore, i took my make-believe very seriously. Having been told that Santa Claus was magical and that he could do anything, i decided one year that all i wanted for Christmas was a suit of armor for both me and my dog Barney. i envisioned the two of us roaming the neighborhood saving those in need and fighting off any foe invading our street.

Just imagine a dog instead of a horse

My mum kept telling me that i should add more to my Christmas list but that was truly all i wanted. A suit of armor was more than enough to keep me fully content. Eventually she said that i needed to pick things Santa could get at a store and that they do not sell suits of armor any more. "Well that's what the elves are for" was my response, "they can make me one."

As one would imagine, Christmas morning came around and sure enough, there was no suit of armor under the tree. i had been a good boy all year, and i am sure there were great things under the tree but there was only one thing that i really wanted. Then i started putting pieces of the Santa puzzle together.  Why was my mother so insistent that things on my list could be bought at a store?  Why were all the gifts me and my siblings got all things that came from stores? Why didn't i get a suit of armor and why did Barney only get a bone?  He was a GREAT dog, clearly deserving of his own armor.

Thoughts that Santa could not, in fact, do EVERYTHING quickly turned into thoughts questioning the very existence of the fat man in a red suit. Santa was a big one.  If he wasn't real, clearly the lesser players: mainly the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy, were scams as well. Reviewing the evidence (my child memory) it became clear to me that all the signs were there, like when you re-watch Fight Club or The Usual Suspects.

You sit on a throne of lies

The "Santa Realization" rapidly lead to the fall of the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy but i kept up the act for the benefit of my younger brother and sister. Shortly after i stopped acknowledging my imaginary friend Homer.

The fact that a fiction, a lie even, could be so pervasive throughout our society was a concept that not only stuck with me but even has haunted me at times. All these things that my parents had told me that had turned out to be completely untrue had me questioning almost everything my parents had taught me.  This line of inquiry butted up against strong Catholic guilt as i inevitable followed it to the logical conclusion of wondering about the realities of God and Jesus at an age when i did not posses the emotional maturity or tools to handle such a heavy philosophical pondering (although i am not sure if even today there is any way to fully prepare for the ramifications of such ponderings).

Having spent years with these types of contemplations by the time i hit my teens, any type of authoritative action was met with extreme skepticism. Just because my parents said it was "bad"
didn't mean anything to me. Why?  What makes it bad? Bad for everyone or just some? i required proof and often required experimentation.

Now, it is not abnormal for a teenager to be experimental and even confrontational. In fact, to some extent, it is very health and quite important in developing independence as adulthood approaches. The effect, however, of all these lies and exaggerations we tell children and how that impacts their later views of both the world and simply of sources of information in general is something i do not think gets enough attention in our society.

Maybe i just have a hyperactive drive to chase truth, but i can't help but wonder how a culture free from youthful make-believe figures would impact the reasoning used by adults in a society more focused on a lifetime of reality.  Or maybe i'm just bitter i never got a suit of armor.

Truth, Decision Making, and Abortions

As with every election cycle in recent time, politicians and the media are using complex and emotional topics to divide people and work up their own bases. Often these divisive topics are immediately dropped once the election is over and not brought back into the fore until the next significant election.

The more ludicrous and vilifying the statements the better the ratings, and like that kid in class constantly acting out, the more attention they get. But life is messy.  Very messy. When we simplify things down to soundbites, bumper stickers, and tweets we move further away from the complexities that many of these extremely important issues contain. Religions and philosophies strive to help comfort us by trying to make the gray world we live in look a bit more black and white. At times we need that simpler view in our lives to keep us from getting overwhelmed and lost. At other times, however, we need to venture into the grayness and give complex subjects the though they need and deserve.

The greatest asset we have when contemplating these gray issues is truth - in all its messy and overwhelming glory. I have been spending quite a bit of time this seemingly endless election cycle build up contemplating the effect that everyone coming forward, truthfully, could have on many of these polarizing topics. There is obvious humor in the politician outspoken against gay rights who gets caught with a same-sexed prostitute, but for now i would like to dive into the gray quagmire of abortion and women's right to choose.

i have been personally very torn when trying to justify my stance and even how it comes into a mental standoff with two of my more core base lines of belief. i am a vegan. i have the word "LIFE" tattooed on my forearm in ancient Irish script. Although there are many logical and beneficial reasons for adopting a vegan diet, the driving force behind my personal decision was a moral one. Quite simply - if i can live a healthy life without having to cause death to other animals, aren't me and those animals both better off for it? My compassion and appreciation for all things living extended into my choice to become an environmental scientist. This line of thought is one of the most powerful motivating factors in my life and in my decision making process.

The other core value i hold dear is the idea of freedom. As long as you are not infringing on my or someone else's freedom, you should be allowed to make your own decisions. i do not do drugs or drink alcohol but i think people should be legally allowed to do both, no matter how dumb i may think their usage is. Doing drugs and drinking only effects the person doing them.  Now if you get drunk and get behind the wheel or if you start stealing to support a drug habit you are now infringing on other's freedom and those actions should be dealt with but the act of chemically altering yourself should be up to you. True freedom means that people are going to do things you do not necessarily like or agree with.  Part of the price of freedom is having to deal with other people doing stupid shit, sometimes REALLY stupid shit. But that is all just part of this thing called freedom - it's messy and it's not just for you.

In trying to find or maintain some consistency in my ideals i have held the stance that although i personally do not agree with the act of an abortion and given the hypothetical situation of making that tough decision with a female partner i may have had a part in getting pregnant, i would imagine trying to explore other options. However, i believe that the right for a women to get a safe and legal abortion is incredibly necessary.

My hypothetical in trying to make a personal decision is projecting a situation of me and someone i had consensual sex with, and that is an extremely limited view of how pregnancies can occur. The right to choose is because of all those nearly infinite scenarios that can lead to pregnancy and different life situations.What about rape and incest?  What about when the mother's life or health are in danger? What about the difficult and sometimes traumatic life of an unwanted child or mothers/parents who can not even take care of themselves? i can not contemplate all this without also thinking of how overpopulated our planet is and how that is actually our biggest environmental issue.

How about trying to identify or define when life actually begins. If the embryo cannot survive on it's own is it a sentient being? How many cells constitutes life? 2? When there is a heartbeat? When it's sex can be determined?

Ultimately, however, i have a dick.  So although us with XY chromosomes play a part in the fertilization process we will never be in the position of being pregnant. My opinion will always be more in the philosophical and hypothetical than in the concrete. Then i got thinking and researching. There are obviously lots of different groups trying to manipulate stats to meet their own arguments but the raw data is out there, with some digging.

3 in 10 women will have abortions during their fertile years.  What if all those women stepped forward in the conversation? Much like with depression and a wide host of other private and personal topics, a character is painted and then used politically.  What if that character was destroyed and replaced by reality? i know that abortion can be an extremely private matter but what if even half of those who have had abortions stood up to bring the reality to the fore?

i bet most people would be completely surprised.  Think of all the women in your life.  3 in 10 of them have had or will have an abortion. You know a lot of women who have had abortions whether you are aware of who they are. Sisters, mothers, aunts, lovers, friends, all these women in our lives and most of us are completely unaware of who has had an abortion.  Who have benefited from their right to choose.  Who was kept safe?

If we were suddenly aware of all the women in our lives who have undergone this procedure it would paint a very different picture than the politics would have us believe. i may be an introverted curmudgeon but i am extremely sincere. Because of this i find many people tend to be sincere around me and for whatever reason people tell me all kinds of stuff about themselves. i am positive that i do not know all of the women in my life who have had abortions but i do know quite a few women who have.

Now could a percentage of those women be considered "sluts"?  Of course. i feel sorry for anyone who at some point in their life has not kept company with sluts.  There is a period in my life where i could have been considered a slut (i'll save the celebrations of male sluts vs vilifying of female sluts for another discussion). But that percentage is small.  Most of the women who i know fall well within the parameters of "normal" and anecdotally i'd say they lean more towards middle to upper class in socioeconomic standing. Not exactly the picture we see painted in these public discussions.

So where does this leave us? In all this deliberation and contemplation here (ad nauseum perhaps) it appears no more easily decided in any simple way and really, i guess this is the lesson i feel is most important. Topics such as these cannot be argued or proven in some 30 second commercial nor with some poignant sound bite.  Like life itself, it is extremely complicated and messy and quite possibly decisions may vary on a case by case basis.  Imagine that?

Ultimately my dream would be that those who have had abortions would not feel so vilified within our society that they are not actively participating in this conversation, in the numbers that are needed in order to keep the discussions based in reality. i wonder - if our country was not so prudish and judgmental surrounding all thing sex related could we finally have the level of discourse necessary to actually work thought the messier and more conflicting aspects of our own human systems.

Shave Your Head - Best Electric Razor

i've been shaving my head (with a few exceptions) since i was 18. That's over twenty years of head shaving experience and i feel the need to pass on a few of the things i've learned and what's worked for me. Between having a very round head, hair that never could be styled quite right, my penchant for all things punk, and my admiration of the dedication of the monastic lifestyle how could i not fall for the simple strength of a clean shaven head.

Fully "Bic'd" with Electric Razor
The completely shaven down to the skin, stubble-less, clean look has always been my end game but one i don't feel i've successfully enjoyed until recently for many reasons. Your head is a pretty big surface area and unless you're Frankenstein's monster it's not flat. Unlike when shaving your face, you cannot see most of your head in the mirror. Lastly, one of the benefits of a shaved head should be the incredible ease of maintenance. If the upkeep process results in spending more time than you would washing, drying, combing, and styling hair then fuck it - become a hair farmer.

This year i finally found the right tech that works to meet all my specific head shaving needs: The Braun Series 3 electric shaver. Now i'm no corporate shill and i am not someone with much brand loyalty in any setting but after years of trial and error and internet research and review reading i am just so impressed with this razor and feel the need to help others find something that works without having to do all the legwork i did.

Basically the same shaving unit comes in multiple tiers of accessories packaging to make the various "versions" of the Series 3 you may find. i'm pretty minimalistic and i just wanted the simple razor, i didn't want the big cleaning unit out in my bathroom somewhere or any of the other shit that others may really dig.  i just wanted to use it and throw it into my vanity drawer. i  am OK with things in any color as long as that color is black so the simply packaged version was perfect for me - black with a cord that can be attached for charging.

Why not use a razor (disposable or otherwise)? Well they are messy with all the shaving cream/gels, you have to do it too frequently (every other day or so or my stubble has grown too long for them), it's a time consuming process (unless you're OK with cutting yourself), and add up all the blades and gels and water and dammit if i wanted all that headache i'd just grow hair. Electric razors catch most of the stubble to be emptied and rinsed out and last for many years.

Why not clipper?  Well i've used clippers for decades. Depending on the length you keep your head shaved at you can go a week or more between clipping (since they can handle any length) and one set, even of the cheap kind, can last you years. i've tried the full gambit and clippers are great but i always craved the completely clean shaved cut ultimately.  Clipper standouts over the years however have been the Oster Classic 76 (you can't really beat this quality, longevity, and cut - bonus: in silver it also looks like a lightsaber handle) and the Wahl Balder (supper close shave for a clipper, almost as close as a razor... almost). Also, unlike with electric razors when using clippers you have the trimmings just falling freely so there is a need to vacuum or sweep after use adding to overall time spent.  i don't like trying to just shave over a sink because although the trimmings are small - with amount and frequency i feel it is too much to ultimately put down the drain for overall plumbing care.

i've tried many of the 3-circled rotary style electric razors and they never did a good job for me. i found myself going over my head many times to get it all clipped and that was quite irritating to both my skin and sense of efficiency. Although my head is quite round the foil style electric razor works best for my skin and hair type.  Not only does the Braun Series 3 have two pivoting foils that flex to the head very well with minimal pressure but in-between the foils is a mini-clipper strip that cuts longer hairs/stubble.  This is the incredible combination that not only gets a gentle and quick shave but allows me to go longer between shaves - hence the low maintenance aspect of care it allows.

The Braun Series 3 is easily opened for cleaning and can also be rinsed under water. Although i probably charge it more frequently than needed i easily get three head shaves out of a charge (i've never run out of charge, i just end up plugging it in after about three uses). i originally saw no need for the retractable clipper/trimmer that slides up the back of the unit but have used it many times, particularly for those sometimes tough to get stray hairs around your ears. Lastly, the power button is set into the handle perfectly so while it's still easy to engage it is not in the way while shaving and the unit can be thrown in a backpack, bag, or suitcase when traveling without needing to be in any kind of case and there is no fear of it getting accidentally switched on (two weeks of being thrown into a bag strapped to the back of a motorcycle has proven this in the field).

i hope this is helpful in all your head shaving needs.  i am not trying to market anything, just trying to pass on some good news from my decades of looking for a great and low maintenance shaved head.

Death Just Happens, Living Takes Work

i have found that fear is an important part of truly living. It is easy to just get into a groove in life where you can coast along surviving with minimal emotional variation. To really experience the beauty of life however, we need to do things that scare us. We need to push ourselves and see what we are capable of.  We need to get some of life on us, even if it gets messy (especially when it gets messy). These things that scare us the most make us who we are. Here's to a messy life...

Crossing The Street

i've crossed a lot of streets in my time. i've traversed streets in Asia, streets in Europe, and my real bread and butter of street crossing - North America. There are a lot of cultural and regional variations when it comes to the etiquette of trans-road travels.

For example, the laid back folks of Southern California will patiently await the "WALK" light's illumination before beginning their journey, even when there is absolutely no traffic whatsoever. In Japan you can cross a road with a huge mass of people yet never feel like you are being pushed, elbowed, or otherwise jockeyed around for a better position of faster pace. In larger, more heavily traveled Irish towns there will be crosswalk lettering to inform you which way to look before crossing since they drive on the wrong side of the street (Yes, the "wrong" side.  Driving on the left is the equivalent of measuring with imperial units. Get on board with the rest of the world - as should the US with measurements.)

The most telling and reflective practice of any region's culture is displayed in the pedestrian practices of the Northeastern United States. No, i'm not talking about the waste of municipal money spent on crosswalk signs since no one ever uses them. Nor am i talking about Bostonian's tendencies to just walk out into traffic and then get characteristically irate when you cannot instantly stop your two ton vehicle for them. What i am addressing is such a deeply rooted cultural practice most of us do not even realize we are doing it or judging others for it.

If someone stops their car to let you cross in the northeast you MUST show your utter appreciation by at least hinting that you are working to get across faster than normal. Some choose to run or jog even, but this selection is typically due to said bipedal being in a real hurry rather than as a thankful gesture. The less confident or easily startled New Englander may do a speed walk to make haste hoping to avoid the honk that says "I stopped to let you go but now I've grown tired of waiting for you".

i personally prefer the "hop-stutter-step" where once they have acknowledged the intent to stop you take this quick little hop, landing in one to two quick steps before falling into you normal pacing. This finely honed move is significant enough to show your appreciation for them not speeding up upon seeing you while simultaneously displaying that you have not completely yielded your pedestrian pride.

Although a quick "thank you" wave is always appreciated, when not combined with some other show of increased speed you will incur the wrath of the most notoriously impatient drivers in the world. Shows of road rage against "walkers" may frequently include the go to - horn honking, or more dickish engine rev. During the warmer months things may escalate to shouts of profanity or insults to your intelligence through open windows (in colder months windows are up but really, who doesn't at least jog across the street in the winter - it's fucking cold out there).  If this does occur you, as a pedestrian are entitled to one (just one) retort back with minimal eye contact. More than one insult return or prolonged eye contact WILL result in even the most mild mannered north-easterner in a tie exiting the car and things will get "wicked real" wicked quick.

Keep this bit of advice handy if you ever find yourself a pedestrian in New England but wherever you may roam, take an extra look not just to check for cars but to witness the manifestation of culture in even the humble acts of everyday routine like simply crossing the street.

Something i Promised i'd Never Say

When i decided to switch from working as an environmental scientist to becoming and environmental science teacher there was something i promised myself that i would never say in class. Over the fifteen years i spent teaching, that thing - that hypothesis i wouldn't bring up or discuss collected more and more data. Evidence kept coming in and it kept growing bigger and bigger and as it did it haunted me more and more.

As both a scientist and as a teacher i was compelled to identify truth and to share truth. i never lied but i chose not to bring up this truth. Teachers get asked all kinds of things that they have to skirt around, mostly in the name of professionalism. It is natural for students to inquire about some of the more human sides of this person who stands amongst them and attempts to educate them. Teachers get very adept at figuring out where to draw lines and how to protect their privacy in tactful ways both for themselves and for the benefit of their students. i used these skills we all learn to develop in the profession to also keep this one topic out of discussions.

Hope is an important thing, especially in our youth. A loss of hope often leads to inaction. Hope is what keeps us all pushing forward in every regard and in every setting. Hope is what gets us to muster the courage to talk to that girl (or guy) we like. A hope to express what we are feeling or experiencing drives us to create art and music, to write and communicate with one another. The hope that our lives can and will get better and better over time drives us to work harder towards our goals, our ambitions, our passions. We all deserve hope and in youth with so much ahead and with the rapid pace of development during that time in our lives i believe that hope is even more important both for the individual and the larger society in which we all are intertwined.

i am not alone in this inner turmoil. It is a fine line that divides a push to action and a collapse into hopelessness. Despite knowing what i know, i have not ceased in my endeavor to make things better, my endeavor to change things, and i did not want to freeze my students before they even really got themselves moving. i am glad i made that decision and would make it again, but i am now no longer a teacher and now believe that in this new role - this new phase in my life, i must be willing to openly discuss this divisive truth.

What i decided not to share with my students is this: there is no longer a way to stop climate change from causing the extinction of humans on this planet. i believe my fears that this may drive some to inaction or hopelessness was justified. The need for powerful and quick change is arguably more important than ever knowing this bit of information. Although the end result will remain the same the timeline and the overall quality of life can be VASTLY improved if we incorporate this information into each and every decision we make.

The quicker and more aggressively we eliminate the causes of climate change the longer our species will survive.  My fellow humans around the planet are already experiencing the effects of climate change and many are already suffering.  Our response to the fact that we have ultimately caused the extinction of our own species will determine how many will suffer and how long we can maintain a revised quality of life that can help ease pain for our fellow homo sapiens.  How many more generations will be able to survive on Earth - our home - will be determined by our actions or inaction.  This is why i did not want to risk my very intelligent and insightful students losing hope.  This is why i promised myself i would not say this in class.

For 40 years i have learned about our environment and i have fallen in love with the life on this planet and the beauty of this planet. i have spent the entirety of my adult life striving to improve the condition of our environment both personally and in an employment setting.  After spending all this time using the facts, using measurements, and using information to strive to improve our species' impact on the planet and seeing a lack of necessary progress i have chosen to pursue a new means of methodology in my lifelong work to do right by our planet.

i am now choosing to speak of our environment and the life on this planet in a more human and emotional way. Although we have not been able to rely on our brains to lead us to do the right thing, i do believe that maybe we can rely on our hearts to help us find motivation to do what is right. Just as i believed my students needed to maintain hope, i acknowledge that i too have a need to maintain hope. Banging my head against a wall trying to use logic was stripping me of a sense of hope. Much like when a loved one is diagnosed with terminal cancer, i am hoping to do whatever i can to make us all enjoy the highest quality of life possible for as long as possible. No hiding of the truth, just facing it together with compassion and empathy.