FRIDAY: PROTESTING IN THE STREETS

                          

 

Now that school is back in almost every country it is time to renew the protests that a young Swedish activist, Greta Thunburg, has asked that Friday be a day of protest and concern for the future of the earth. 

 

It is very good to see so many young people hit the streets to speak to political leaders and their own citizens of our need to work towards a sustainable future.

 

But it is not sufficient to raise our voices and demand change from our government leaders.  We need to ask each of these protestors what they are doing in their own personal lives to give the earth a sustainable future. Is your witness (your concerns) authentic or are you just passing the buck, demanding that someone else (i.e., the government) do something about the impending destruction of the earth’s environment?

 

This is where the wisdom of the Indian prophet, Mahatma  Gandi (d. 1949), challenges us in a most helpful way. He challenged every human being (and especially his fellow citizens who were protesting the English domination of life and the economy of India): “Be the change you want the world to become.”

 

Before you demand that others change their ways, you change!

 

To all the protesters on the streets this past Friday we must say, ‘What are you doing to contribute to a sustainable life on planet earth?’ Never hit the streets in protest if you are not already moving into a lifestyle that consumes less of the earth’s resources.

 

The first way we can make a contribution to the sustainability of the earth is to cut down on our consumption (i.e., reduce). What if every one of the protestors took a good look at the amount of clothes handing in their closets (i.e., unused for most of the year)? How many extra pair of jeans does each person have that are not being worn? 

 

What about all the electronic equipment, new gadgets, recreational items that are very seldom used? And then like so many of our unworn clothes, we discard them.

 

Consider what a difference it would make if everyone cut their consumption by ten percent? Twenty give percent? Would these protestors on the streets actually feel any deprivation if they just cut down their consumption? Would anyone in the First World (to top twenty percent of the world’s earth) suffer any inconvenience?

 

If you want the world to move into a sustainable mode of living, begin now! Every protestor on the street can make a significant difference to the future of the world.

 

Now, we must move into our churches and worship centers. What kind of leadership are we being given to care for the earth? Move into a more sustainable form of living? How is our parish community helping us to care for the only home we have, the earth?