“The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. The Nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.”
I might have agreed with Dr. King’s statement when I was a teenager during the Vietnam War, but it’s nothing that would have been ascribed to me as an adult.
Dr. King
Like many people, I have been taught to be wary of extremists. Stick to the center, stray neither to the right nor to the left, and you won’t get yourself in trouble. People won’t respect you if you stray from the comfortable middle. You won’t be listened to.
Unless you are an athlete or an energy drink, you don’t want to be viewed as extreme.
When I worked in environmental messaging and communications on Capitol Hill, we learned that the best way to side-line someone was to label them as an extremist. “Out of step” is a good phrase. Likewise, industry PR reps labeled all environmentalists as extremists — “elitist tree-huggers who want everyone to freeze in the dark.” We tried hard to represent ourselves as mainstream. Just a bunch of soccer Moms over here…what, you think I hug trees or something?? (I do, get over it.)
I’ve noticed that right-wing commentators are even calling the National Rifle Association “extreme” and “out of step” these days. Curiouser and curiouser.
In Praise of Imbalance
Last night in my spiritual book group, we got to talking about whether or not we can really make a difference in the world. Should we focus on our inner growth, become the best humans we can be, and trust that this will make the world a healthier place? Is it better to march in demonstrations and wave signs? Do you have to go to Africa and build an orphanage? Or is it the simpler things that count, like working at a soup kitchen or helping with Habitat for Humanity?
“Balance,” several intoned, followed by much nodding.
This may true for individuals; I’m not sure. But I am sure that balance doesn’t help a society or a world that is badly in need of change. Balance doesn’t lead to change, it maintains the status quo. In order to move from the status quo, you’ve got to have people out on the edges tipping the scales. The type of people who go on hunger strikes, who march in the streets, who refuse to sit in the back of the bus.
The comfortable people in the middle won’t like these troublemakers on the edge; they knock things off kilter. They will label them:
Extremists.
Getting Out of Step
I’m headed for the edge. I’ve changed my mind about extremists — I’m with Dr. King.
Look where “the norm” has gotten us. If enough people don’t get “out of step” pretty damn quickly, our planet is in big trouble. It’s not enough to just vote anymore.
The oil and gas industry has more money than God, and they are willing to spend whatever it takes to stop action on climate change. It is up to “we, the people” to make this change.
Even my former employer, the well-respected but slightly stodgy 120-year-old Sierra Club, has just announced that it will engage in civil disobedience because the time is so short and the stakes are so high.
Creative Extremism
I think that when Dr. King talked about “creative extremism,” he might have been talking about the kind of extremist that creates new things, builds towards a new vision, rather than simply deconstructing and criticizing.
It seems we finally have a leader willing to lead towards that kind of vision. In case you missed President Obama’s inaugural speech on Monday, he spent more time talking about climate change than any other issue:
“We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms.”
“The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries – we must claim its promise. That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure – our forests and waterways; our croplands and snowcapped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.”
THANK GOD!
There’s going to be a huge climate rally in D.C. on February 17th. I’m going to make some signs and go act like an extremist. Will you join me?
Find out more about it here.
You can also make calls to help turn out other extremists — ahem, activists.
And check out this video:
Writing with Spirit 
Jan 25, 2013 @ 08:29:24
First things first. Real action must be taken to protect real people from their very real stupidity, laziness and greed. Millions will die in the coming decades because people were allowed to remain living in low-lying coastal areas and flood-plains. Meanwhile what were we doing? “Reducing our carbon footprint”?
Mother Nature is on the move, let’s get out of her way.
Jan 26, 2013 @ 13:30:30
True, too. That’s a complicated one, though. What about Native American ancestral fishing grounds on the Gulf coast – hard to just “move” them. And the people in the 9th ward of New Orleans? Tell them, “sorry, you have to live somewhere else now?” They own those homes – where do they go?
I agree, though, that many government flood insurance programs are a ridiculous waste of money – repeatedly rebuilding rich people’s second homes on the coasts. And I’m dubious about the idea of building flood walls to “protect” our ooastal cities. As the storms get stronger and the waves higher, that’s just buying a little time at a great expense.
Thanks for your thoughts!
Jan 24, 2013 @ 13:37:10
It’s easy to say good things. The words of Nixon Attorney General John Mitchell should always be applied to politicians, “Watch what we do, not what we say.”
Do you notice that whenever the President goes out to eat, it’s always for meat? Do you realize that the #1 cause of global warming, above all transportation combined, is animal-based agriculture? Do you realize that the President has ensconced key agents for the worst kind of corporate agriculture at high levels in the USDA and FDA?
Jan 24, 2013 @ 14:20:10
No, I can’t say I pay any attention to what Obama eats. Not mine to judge.
Who are you quoting there? I’ve never heard anyone say that animal-based ag is the #1 cause of global warming. Electricity is the topper, then transportation, then industry. Of course, big agriculture uses all of those things, but is not the biggest user by any means. Near CAFOs there can be nasty islands of methane and ammonia.
Jan 24, 2013 @ 17:36:51
Some references:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2367646/
Click to access hsus-the-impact-of-animal-agriculture-on-global-warming-and-climate-change.pdf
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?newsID=20772&CR1=warning#.UQG1TmfeAuA
http://www.earthsave.org/globalwarming.htm
Click to access Livestock%20and%20Climate%20Change.pdf
Jan 25, 2013 @ 00:13:55
Very interesting stuff. Looks like animal agriculture emits about 18% of man-made greenhouse gases, if you trust the U.N. reports. I didn’t realize it was so high. (I see some of your sources even think 50%.)
Still, I’m not condemning Obama for eating meat. if he can substantially increase solar and wind production, I think I’ll leave his diet to his own personal conscience. Thanks for the info!