Comments on: Cheermongers and Hope Fiends – Part 3 http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2007/05/26/cheermongers-and-hope-fiends-%e2%80%93-part-3/ A middle class white guy comes to grips with Peak Oil, Climate Change, Mass Extinction, Population Overshoot Thu, 04 Dec 2008 04:58:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1.2 By: Ted Howard http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2007/05/26/cheermongers-and-hope-fiends-%e2%80%93-part-3/#comment-1176 Ted Howard Sat, 26 May 2007 21:44:45 +0000 http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2007/05/26/cheermongers-and-hope-fiends-%e2%80%93-part-3/#comment-1176 Hey Tim Ahhh....a sanity monger! In the face of an insane culture, I guess it's a great way forward into the coming shit-storm. Like you, I'd rather face it with eyes and heart wide open. Standing with you bro! Best Ted Hey Tim
Ahhh….a sanity monger!
In the face of an insane culture, I guess it’s a great way forward into the coming shit-storm. Like you, I’d rather face it with eyes and heart wide open.
Standing with you bro!

Best
Ted

]]> By: Vivienne http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2007/05/26/cheermongers-and-hope-fiends-%e2%80%93-part-3/#comment-1196 Vivienne Sun, 27 May 2007 14:06:59 +0000 http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2007/05/26/cheermongers-and-hope-fiends-%e2%80%93-part-3/#comment-1196 Hi Tim, couldn't help thinking of you yesterday at a in law's family party. The family had just bought a $650,000 dollar home and are hanging onto their other home to rent out. They are involved in a multi-marketing business which rewards with mercedes and the talk revolved around how many of them there would be on their street soon once they involved their new neighbours in the biz. I wanted to run, I wanted to scream. Instead I looked out of the window at the beautiful view: a mountainside clear cut for a housing development and thought of one of your blogs about how you felt at a lot of social engagements lately. It helped, it helped a lot it reminded me just how sane I am and enabled me to get through that particular social engagement without setting fire to my hair and running out of the house. Keep up the sanity mongering. It's a great and necessary service. Before we left my partner jumped in to the fray and engaged one of the guests, an it guy from Seattle in a conversation about peak oil and the coming collapse and he was pretty receptive and "got it". Our host the new home owner got pretty jumpy and tried to convince us that it wasn't going to be that bad. We didn't try to convince we just held onto our sanity and left feeling like we had planted a seed of sanity. Vivienne, Ladner B.C. Canada Hi Tim,
couldn’t help thinking of you yesterday at a in law’s family party. The family had just bought a $650,000 dollar home and are hanging onto their other home to rent out. They are involved in a multi-marketing business which rewards with mercedes and the talk revolved around how many of them there would be on their street soon once they involved their new neighbours in the biz. I wanted to run, I wanted to scream. Instead I looked out of the window at the beautiful view: a mountainside clear cut for a housing development and thought of one of your blogs about how you felt at a lot of social engagements lately. It helped, it helped a lot it reminded me just how sane I am and enabled me to get through that particular social engagement without setting fire to my hair and running out of the house. Keep up the sanity mongering. It’s a great and necessary service. Before we left my partner jumped in to the fray and engaged one of the guests, an it guy from Seattle in a conversation about peak oil and the coming collapse and he was pretty receptive and “got it”. Our host the new home owner got pretty jumpy and tried to convince us that it wasn’t going to be that bad. We didn’t try to convince we just held onto our sanity and left feeling like we had planted a seed of sanity.
Vivienne, Ladner B.C. Canada

]]> By: becky http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2007/05/26/cheermongers-and-hope-fiends-%e2%80%93-part-3/#comment-1208 becky Sun, 27 May 2007 21:19:33 +0000 http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2007/05/26/cheermongers-and-hope-fiends-%e2%80%93-part-3/#comment-1208 aloha tim and todd, i stand with you, too!! aloha tim and todd,

i stand with you, too!!

]]> By: Brad G Burch http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2007/05/26/cheermongers-and-hope-fiends-%e2%80%93-part-3/#comment-1211 Brad G Burch Sun, 27 May 2007 23:52:47 +0000 http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2007/05/26/cheermongers-and-hope-fiends-%e2%80%93-part-3/#comment-1211 I just happened upon this site via Dr.Robert G Anderson - concerned scientist in New Zealand - a friend of mine. I'd like to say that I too feel that hope without action is not what's needed - action speaks louder. But I'll add my words here anyway. I've been working getting out of the roller coaster for several years now - just making life as simple as possible. Rent a car when I need one otherwise walk or bus. Kids grown now and out in the world. I think the nomadic folks like in Mongolia may have had things right - but now they too are going modern as well. I look forward to seeing this DVD - Documentary. In Minnesota now after many years in New Zealand - yes Americans are in something of a dream or fantasy world -one article I once read called it "Idealistic Materialists" I think that's a right notion and I feel the answer is a spiritual solution for us as human beings - are we just physical? If one thinks so ... then we are a dog eat dog bunch, but I feel there really is a motivating impulse beyond the physical world - but we are intrusted to look out for eachother and the planet and try to work it out. Thanks for doing what you're doing and I hope this is a success for you all. I just happened upon this site via Dr.Robert G Anderson - concerned scientist in New Zealand - a friend of mine.
I’d like to say that I too feel that hope without action is not what’s needed - action speaks louder. But I’ll add my words here anyway.
I’ve been working getting out of the roller coaster for several years now - just making life as simple as possible. Rent a car when I need one otherwise walk or bus. Kids grown now and out in the world.
I think the nomadic folks like in Mongolia may have had things right - but now they too are going modern as well.

I look forward to seeing this DVD - Documentary.

In Minnesota now after many years in New Zealand - yes Americans are in something of a dream or fantasy world -one article I once read called it “Idealistic Materialists” I think that’s a right notion and I feel the answer is a spiritual solution for us as human beings - are we just physical? If one thinks so … then we are a dog eat dog bunch, but I feel there really is a motivating impulse beyond the physical world - but we are intrusted to look out for eachother and the planet and try to work it out.
Thanks for doing what you’re doing and I hope this is a success for you all.

]]> By: Ted Howard http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2007/05/26/cheermongers-and-hope-fiends-%e2%80%93-part-3/#comment-1314 Ted Howard Thu, 31 May 2007 06:40:11 +0000 http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2007/05/26/cheermongers-and-hope-fiends-%e2%80%93-part-3/#comment-1314 Hey Brad What we face is a cultural crisis, and the spiritual reconnection to reality is the real healing that's possible.... I would guess that Robert could have got an email from me about this site, that he passed on to you....interesting how international networking goes around! Regards Ted Nelson, NZ Hey Brad
What we face is a cultural crisis, and the spiritual reconnection to reality is the real healing that’s possible….

I would guess that Robert could have got an email from me about this site, that he passed on to you….interesting how international networking goes around!

Regards
Ted
Nelson, NZ

]]> By: Brad G Burch http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2007/05/26/cheermongers-and-hope-fiends-%e2%80%93-part-3/#comment-1891 Brad G Burch Mon, 25 Jun 2007 04:36:37 +0000 http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2007/05/26/cheermongers-and-hope-fiends-%e2%80%93-part-3/#comment-1891 Hey Ted and All, Just looked at this site again tonight - I haven't seen the DVD as yet - must order it. The cultural crisis - Well my feeling is that we really need to look at eachother as equals - one in the spirit of love - old or one might say worn out traditions and ways of doing things need changing. Many of our cultural norms are past their use by dates. We also need a group of the world's leaders to lead morally as well - not caring about the bottom line and vested interests for common good and may I say it? For God's sake - I feel in my soul that God commands justice and wants us to wage peace instead of war. There's a ground swell growing world wide now to work things out from what I see and hear - it may be that the meek and lowly will have to push the present leaders to do it - or we can work right around them. The world is truely a wonder-filled beautiful globe from afar - let's keep working for solutions together and seeking the truth for any given situation as hard as it may be to achieve. Best Regards, Brad Rochester, MN. Hey Ted and All,

Just looked at this site again tonight - I haven’t seen the DVD as yet - must order it.
The cultural crisis - Well my feeling is that we really need to look at eachother as equals - one in the spirit of love - old or one might say worn out traditions and ways of doing things need changing. Many of our cultural norms are past their use by dates.
We also need a group of the world’s leaders to lead morally as well - not caring about the bottom line and vested interests for common good and may I say it? For God’s sake - I feel in my soul that God commands justice and wants us to wage peace instead of war.
There’s a ground swell growing world wide now to work things out from what I see and hear - it may be that the meek and lowly will have to push the present leaders to do it - or we can work right around them.
The world is truely a wonder-filled beautiful globe from afar - let’s keep working for solutions together and seeking the truth for any given situation as hard as it may be to achieve.
Best Regards, Brad
Rochester, MN.

]]> By: Timber http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2007/05/26/cheermongers-and-hope-fiends-%e2%80%93-part-3/#comment-2100 Timber Mon, 02 Jul 2007 16:37:36 +0000 http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2007/05/26/cheermongers-and-hope-fiends-%e2%80%93-part-3/#comment-2100 In these three posts and their responses, I don't see a clear mention of what I think is another big reason for the insistence on positivity/non-judgment/non-criticism by so many people: they don't want anyone to dislike them, and so they shrink from any kind of reaction to ugliness except denial, avoidance, or "lovingkindness." It's much easier to say you are somehow effecting change through abstract notions of optimism than to challenge people through confrontation. And let's face it, even if you bring up a topic like peak oil to someone whose life revolves around consumerism, they will see it as a personal attack. Better to just "hope" that they will experience some sort of epiphany than to be seen as "judgmental" or "negative." There's an element of narcissism in wanting so desperately to feel good about yourself and be liked by others that you don't even want to take a stand against ignorance or apathy. In these three posts and their responses, I don’t see a clear mention of what I think is another big reason for the insistence on positivity/non-judgment/non-criticism by so many people: they don’t want anyone to dislike them, and so they shrink from any kind of reaction to ugliness except denial, avoidance, or “lovingkindness.”

It’s much easier to say you are somehow effecting change through abstract notions of optimism than to challenge people through confrontation. And let’s face it, even if you bring up a topic like peak oil to someone whose life revolves around consumerism, they will see it as a personal attack. Better to just “hope” that they will experience some sort of epiphany than to be seen as “judgmental” or “negative.”

There’s an element of narcissism in wanting so desperately to feel good about yourself and be liked by others that you don’t even want to take a stand against ignorance or apathy.

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