Wednesday 30 June 2010
building a bike powered phone charger
Here are some links I'm looking at and trying to decide which one to try out first.
Resisting Empire
I've had some enriching discussions with folk since the last post on Empire, the US and Evangelicalism.
What's driving home to me now is that Empire exists in two locations: "out there" and "in here". The "out there" is in politics, economics, militarism, consumerism, domination, etc. Once you start seeing it, it is the easiest form of Empire to notice. For example: the US has over 700 military bases across 135 different countries, who's security is that really for? The US's economy and resource footprint is in the range of 80% for 20% of the population (those figures probably include OECD countries, not sure. You can look them up for yourself). We all agree that the US is "on top", the disagreement is whether this is a good thing or not.
For me I see it as a sign of Empire because there is little acknowledgement that the way we live in Empire impacts those outside of Empire. Well, that's not entirely accurate. Do we acknowledge that part of the Empire is left untended, has it's valuable natural resources transfered to the center of Empire and those left behind become the dumping ground for the center? Usually not. When we buy a consumable good, food, a mobile phone, a car, do we think beyond the cost-benefit equation to our self (usually in terms of money, time and effort) or to the planet (which requires thinking of product life-cycles, labour practices, environmental impacts, and the quality of human interaction? I'm guilty of the former for most of my consumption.
Jesus said, "why accuse your fellow human of participating in Empire when you are just as blindly complicit?" (my paraphrase). And I have to answer, "because it's easier to point the finger than seriously critique my own participation in Empire". It's time to stop that.
Martin Luther King Jr wrote in his famous Letter from Birmingham Prison that there are four phases to a nonviolent campaign: 1. collect the facts and decide if there is injustice going on. 2. negotiate with the relevant decision makers 3. spend time in "self-purification", and 4. engage in nonviolent direct action. I actually think that the beginning point is number 3 - "self-purification". When we are able to stand outside of the reaches of Empire, even for just a moment, we begin to percieve the injustices that we are complicit with, either passively or actively. At that point we are able to begin investigations, try to pursuade others to change and, if necessary, make the crisis of Empire so clear through nonviolent actions that change will become necessary (like the recent Avaaz.org campaign to prevent the increase in whale killing). But the key is self-purification.
Self-purification is not some high-faluting saint-like attainment. It is about reaching for the highest values that humans can attain, but humbly recognising how far off we are. Self-purification seeks awareness of all that binds us to Empire, whether it be job, status, education, possessions, area/zip code, make and model of car you drive. When we become aware of these sticking points, even temporarily, we are better able to see things from a bigger perspective. With compassion. What Empire is like for those not at the center and not connected to me? For the environment? For our families? It's not easy to do and I'm certain I've never attained perfect purification. But that, I don't think, is the point. Perfection is not the point. Rather, a gradual opening up of our awareness to how my life affects my neighbour's life, even if that neighbour is on the other side of the planet and I never ever meet her.
Gandhi used the word satyagraha, truth force, to help people understand that resisting an Empire requires a strong grasping on to the truth. Not just truth as in facts, but truth as in compassionate relationships. Satyagraha was the outward actions of defeating the British Empire. But it was also the struggle to ensure that those actions did not alienate the British, but allow them to leave as friends. And it worked. On both counts.
Islam has a similar understanding. It's called jihad, or struggle. The media feeds us jihad all the time as a militant islamic practice. However, jihad is first and foremost the inner struggle with Self. The Prophet, PBUH, called this the greater jihad.
The result of all this self-purification of mine is a growing desire to know the impacts of my life choices, as well as a growing list of potential new ways of living that resist Empire on a personal level. Gandhi is well known for his marches to the salt fields and facing down British military might, he is less well known for the constructive alternatives to Empire that he promoted. Village self-sufficiency was a huge part of what he called "constructive programme". His centerpiece was the charkha, or spinning wheel. Both tactically and symbolically it was genius. The British Raj organised the cloth trade so that India relied on cloth made in Manchester. It kept over a million textile workers in employment. But it kept 300 million Indians in dire poverty. He asked each Indian to spend half an hour or so spinning, carding and weaving their own cotton and cloth. It created massive self-reliance and employment in India. It demolished the English textile industry, but the workers were so convinced of the justice of Gandhi's approach they whole-heartedly supported it. So I'm looking for my own "charkha", that symbol of resisting empire which is at the same time practical and constructive. I also like the symbolism of the wheel, but I have no idea how to spin wool or cotton. But I have a bike. And bikes have wheels - two of them. Riding my bike reduces my reliance on oil. Oil is the life-blood of Empire. It's a start. But there's more bikes can do. The energy inherent in a bike (pedal power) can power lights, recharge batteries and run computers. So I've searched the net and come up with some designs for phone recharger from recycled materials and a bike-powered home generator, (2) and (3). I'm itching to give them a try, even though I'm no electrician.
What's driving home to me now is that Empire exists in two locations: "out there" and "in here". The "out there" is in politics, economics, militarism, consumerism, domination, etc. Once you start seeing it, it is the easiest form of Empire to notice. For example: the US has over 700 military bases across 135 different countries, who's security is that really for? The US's economy and resource footprint is in the range of 80% for 20% of the population (those figures probably include OECD countries, not sure. You can look them up for yourself). We all agree that the US is "on top", the disagreement is whether this is a good thing or not.
For me I see it as a sign of Empire because there is little acknowledgement that the way we live in Empire impacts those outside of Empire. Well, that's not entirely accurate. Do we acknowledge that part of the Empire is left untended, has it's valuable natural resources transfered to the center of Empire and those left behind become the dumping ground for the center? Usually not. When we buy a consumable good, food, a mobile phone, a car, do we think beyond the cost-benefit equation to our self (usually in terms of money, time and effort) or to the planet (which requires thinking of product life-cycles, labour practices, environmental impacts, and the quality of human interaction? I'm guilty of the former for most of my consumption.
Jesus said, "why accuse your fellow human of participating in Empire when you are just as blindly complicit?" (my paraphrase). And I have to answer, "because it's easier to point the finger than seriously critique my own participation in Empire". It's time to stop that.
Martin Luther King Jr wrote in his famous Letter from Birmingham Prison that there are four phases to a nonviolent campaign: 1. collect the facts and decide if there is injustice going on. 2. negotiate with the relevant decision makers 3. spend time in "self-purification", and 4. engage in nonviolent direct action. I actually think that the beginning point is number 3 - "self-purification". When we are able to stand outside of the reaches of Empire, even for just a moment, we begin to percieve the injustices that we are complicit with, either passively or actively. At that point we are able to begin investigations, try to pursuade others to change and, if necessary, make the crisis of Empire so clear through nonviolent actions that change will become necessary (like the recent Avaaz.org campaign to prevent the increase in whale killing). But the key is self-purification.
Self-purification is not some high-faluting saint-like attainment. It is about reaching for the highest values that humans can attain, but humbly recognising how far off we are. Self-purification seeks awareness of all that binds us to Empire, whether it be job, status, education, possessions, area/zip code, make and model of car you drive. When we become aware of these sticking points, even temporarily, we are better able to see things from a bigger perspective. With compassion. What Empire is like for those not at the center and not connected to me? For the environment? For our families? It's not easy to do and I'm certain I've never attained perfect purification. But that, I don't think, is the point. Perfection is not the point. Rather, a gradual opening up of our awareness to how my life affects my neighbour's life, even if that neighbour is on the other side of the planet and I never ever meet her.
Gandhi used the word satyagraha, truth force, to help people understand that resisting an Empire requires a strong grasping on to the truth. Not just truth as in facts, but truth as in compassionate relationships. Satyagraha was the outward actions of defeating the British Empire. But it was also the struggle to ensure that those actions did not alienate the British, but allow them to leave as friends. And it worked. On both counts.
Islam has a similar understanding. It's called jihad, or struggle. The media feeds us jihad all the time as a militant islamic practice. However, jihad is first and foremost the inner struggle with Self. The Prophet, PBUH, called this the greater jihad.
The result of all this self-purification of mine is a growing desire to know the impacts of my life choices, as well as a growing list of potential new ways of living that resist Empire on a personal level. Gandhi is well known for his marches to the salt fields and facing down British military might, he is less well known for the constructive alternatives to Empire that he promoted. Village self-sufficiency was a huge part of what he called "constructive programme". His centerpiece was the charkha, or spinning wheel. Both tactically and symbolically it was genius. The British Raj organised the cloth trade so that India relied on cloth made in Manchester. It kept over a million textile workers in employment. But it kept 300 million Indians in dire poverty. He asked each Indian to spend half an hour or so spinning, carding and weaving their own cotton and cloth. It created massive self-reliance and employment in India. It demolished the English textile industry, but the workers were so convinced of the justice of Gandhi's approach they whole-heartedly supported it. So I'm looking for my own "charkha", that symbol of resisting empire which is at the same time practical and constructive. I also like the symbolism of the wheel, but I have no idea how to spin wool or cotton. But I have a bike. And bikes have wheels - two of them. Riding my bike reduces my reliance on oil. Oil is the life-blood of Empire. It's a start. But there's more bikes can do. The energy inherent in a bike (pedal power) can power lights, recharge batteries and run computers. So I've searched the net and come up with some designs for phone recharger from recycled materials and a bike-powered home generator, (2) and (3). I'm itching to give them a try, even though I'm no electrician.
I am also researching the product lifecycle of the technology I use (nokia mobile phone, hp laptop, Palm TX, the internet - the servers that keep it going and store this blog for you to read, cloud computing, ebooks, etc) and for ways to reduce the environmental impact of these while I use them (eg using human-powered generators to power them). There are some interesting and useful resources on the 'net. A Greenpeace report on computer, phone and game-console manufacturers rates how well they work towards products that reduce or eliminate toxic chemicals, pvc plastic and carbon footprints. There's more research to be done: labour practices throughout the component cycle of mineral extraction, manufacture and retail, etc.
The key to being prophetic is not being noisy, but practical. It's one thing to shout and yell "Empire is Evil", but what is the alternative, and is it liveable? I see this as part of my experiment with truth, of self-purification and inner satyagraha and my greater jihad.
Wednesday 16 June 2010
Entering Empire (with eyes wide open)
So the current plan is to move to the US in a year's time. And I feel concerned. US pretty much epitomises Empire for me and the thought of living there, bringing up children there, scares me. How do I resist Empire when living in the very heart of it?
The first thing that came to mind was what to do about taxes? Right now we don't earn enough to pay any to any government, so it's mostly an intellectual consideration right now. But it's possible we'd have to start paying tax at some point in the future. And I definitely don't want to pay for any of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, nor the 75 clandestine wars America is waging around the world (according to Johan Galtung www.transcend.org).
I watched The Story of Stuff (www.thestoryofstuff.com) and heard that US military spending accounts for 50 percent of tax revenue. My wife says, "you better check that out", not quite believing the assertion. Well, according to War Resisters International the stat is wrong. The figure is only 48 percent - regular military spending, then hidden defense spendings in other areas plus debt from previous military spending. That's a lot of dough and I don't want ANY of my money going to it. If I'm going to spend money on anything close to defense it would be for the rehabilitation of soldiers returning from active duty, to support their reintegration into society and recover from the trauma of battle.
Another area that scares me silly is Consumerism. I'll capitalise it for now as it really does seem like a religion. At the least it's a real economic philosophy. I don't want to turn into a Consumer. Or perhaps a better way of saying it is I want to get out of Consumerism. At least life in Cambodia there is a somewhat restriction on my consumption. It is still in stark contrast to my neighbours who mostly live in homes with dirt floors and pull drinking and washing water out of the local putrid open well. A lawn mower in Cambodia is a cow or a goat. And there are no ludicrous local codes preventing people from using FREE solar energy to dry their clothes on the washing line. Even in hard-baked Arizona people use drying machines - including my mother-in-law. But the fact that people "do it" is not so bad so much as how society is shaped so that healthy, non-Consumerism, environmentally-friendly options are made so difficult. Wal-Mart is a dangerous place. You go in there, look at the price tag and say to yourself, "It would be wrong NOT to buy this at such a cheap price!" Seriously!
The Story of Stuff also pointed out the process of extraction to refuse. The first being environmental destruction to get at the resources, the second is using the labour of the people who no longer have natural resources to use as cheap labour to work in the factories that are on the formerly pristine natural resources. A few years ago, in fact just one year ago, this would have felt like a complete academic reality. Ten minutes down the road from where I live this goes on RIGHT NOW. Kep Thmey, Rolous, Totung Tngay and Kilo Dawp Pii are four villages I can name off the top of my head and drive my tiny 90cc motorbike to in under 20 minutes. Some corporate genius thought it would make perfect sense (and a ton of money) to fill in the delicate mangrove coastal areas to build factories. In the meantime the land fill going into the coast kills off all the easy-to-reach aquatic life, killing off important sea grass that ensures the continuity of the most important fishery in the region and put out of work most of the local fishing community. "No problem!", says He, "I've got a factory just down the road you can all work in". Well, no one really wants a factory job, and the factory manager only lets in people with a 'decent level of education' which exludes most of the local folk who don't have a 'decent education'. If this is the happy Consumerist utopia, I want nothing to do with it! Easier said than done in the heart of Empire, I'd wager.
So what can I do to escape from the Latter Day Saints of Consumerism?
REDUCE CARBON OUTPUT AND USE OF NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCES
- I'd like to live where I don't need a car.
- I'd ride a bike or catch the bus or train instead.
- buy more things second-hand
- I'd like to limit plane travel (which is not easy being an international family and an international organisation)
- I'll limit how much I buy and the kinds of things I do buy (I'll need to clarify this point somehow)
- I won't have a TV and expose myself to all the Consumerist evangelist tracts and discipleship materials.
- remember to take the cloth bags to the market (less plastic bags)
ADVOCACY AND STRUCTURAL CHANGE
- advocate on behalf of ecological injustices
- I'd like to think of some symbolic economic symbol (like Gandhi spinning yarn) that undermines Consumerism.
- I'm not paying taxes to Uncle Sam, at least not the military part of them.
- change our investments to an approach that does not fuel the Consumerist economy, but compassionate economic practices, non-war, non-nonrenewable resources. is there a compassionate approach to investment? if so, how?
DEVELOP CONSTRUCTIVE APPROACHES
- I'd like to grow my own veggies.
- I'd like to put my savings into things that don't fuel further Consumerism or war.
- I'd like to promote the non-obsolesence of older computers by installing open-source operating systems and software like lubuntu which breath new life into old computers.
- I'd like to find ways to resist buying new and make use of used. Furniture, appliances, some clothes, technological equipment (computers, phones, PDAs, cameras), toys for the kids (and me).
- buy ebooks instead of paperbooks or secondhand paperbooks instead of new.
I'm doing my best to go with ebooks instead of paperbooks. I'm guessing that an ebook is better than a paper book. It's not made of paper. It doesn't require a massive bookshelf to keep them on. There's also tons of free ebooks online. But, obviously electronics rely on power consumption, much of it coming from fosil fuels (Australia and Cambodia) or nuclear power (US).
But I don't want to be stingey and ungrateful to live. I want to live with joy and hope and compassion. I don't want to judge others who are Consumers, but I do want to offer choice alternatives.
I'd like to begin each morning with silent meditation, practicing awareness, before starting work. I'd also like to engage in some form of productive physical activity - not just 'exercise'. Eg, growing veggies, yard work, community service, and also see housework (washing dishes, clothes, cleaning up) more part of my spiritual practices, not seeing it as a barrier to life but integrated with it.
One big bad habit I really need to work on is forgetting to take the cloth bags to the market. In Cambodian they have real markets. And Cambodia market sellers LOVE to give you plastic bags. I buy doughnuts at one bakery once and asked for a cookie. I got one plastic bag for the doughnuts, one for the cookie and one bag to put everything together!
I'm also giving up Evangelicalism. I'm not sure what this post has to do with Evangelicalism, but while I'm talking about giving up stuff this came to mind. I actually kicked the habit several years back, but I'm coming out of the closet with this one. There's too much baggage with it, and little positive in it that I can see. The focus on evangelism and a morbid atonement through sacrificial substitution just doesn't do it for me any more. Have you ever really read the Apostles' Creed - which surely was never written by any of the original apostles. In the very middle it says Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary and in the next breath dies under Pontius Pilate. Where's the rest of it? So Jesus' life and ministry has no theological value at all? It just doesn't add up. And since Evangelicalism is so closely aligned to American State Religion, which is the same as Consumerism, I'm done with it. I will engage with it, see the good in it, learn from it, and be compassionate to those who subscribe to it, but I'm signing the divorce papers on it for good.
While I'm at it ...
I've realised that I should get out of organisational development and focus more on what I'm passionate about in transformational education and learning design.
And,
that my focus is not really (perhaps never has been) poverty, but is rather Violence, with a capital V. Physical, Structural and Cultural Violence. I make it my work - professional and spiritual - to work at transforming violence and violent systems/contexts using peace and nonviolence.
What does a compassionate response to Militarism look like? engagement, offering alternatives, listening to the needs behind Militarism (fear, need for physical and economic security and safety).
The first thing that came to mind was what to do about taxes? Right now we don't earn enough to pay any to any government, so it's mostly an intellectual consideration right now. But it's possible we'd have to start paying tax at some point in the future. And I definitely don't want to pay for any of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, nor the 75 clandestine wars America is waging around the world (according to Johan Galtung www.transcend.org).
I watched The Story of Stuff (www.thestoryofstuff.com) and heard that US military spending accounts for 50 percent of tax revenue. My wife says, "you better check that out", not quite believing the assertion. Well, according to War Resisters International the stat is wrong. The figure is only 48 percent - regular military spending, then hidden defense spendings in other areas plus debt from previous military spending. That's a lot of dough and I don't want ANY of my money going to it. If I'm going to spend money on anything close to defense it would be for the rehabilitation of soldiers returning from active duty, to support their reintegration into society and recover from the trauma of battle.
Another area that scares me silly is Consumerism. I'll capitalise it for now as it really does seem like a religion. At the least it's a real economic philosophy. I don't want to turn into a Consumer. Or perhaps a better way of saying it is I want to get out of Consumerism. At least life in Cambodia there is a somewhat restriction on my consumption. It is still in stark contrast to my neighbours who mostly live in homes with dirt floors and pull drinking and washing water out of the local putrid open well. A lawn mower in Cambodia is a cow or a goat. And there are no ludicrous local codes preventing people from using FREE solar energy to dry their clothes on the washing line. Even in hard-baked Arizona people use drying machines - including my mother-in-law. But the fact that people "do it" is not so bad so much as how society is shaped so that healthy, non-Consumerism, environmentally-friendly options are made so difficult. Wal-Mart is a dangerous place. You go in there, look at the price tag and say to yourself, "It would be wrong NOT to buy this at such a cheap price!" Seriously!
The Story of Stuff also pointed out the process of extraction to refuse. The first being environmental destruction to get at the resources, the second is using the labour of the people who no longer have natural resources to use as cheap labour to work in the factories that are on the formerly pristine natural resources. A few years ago, in fact just one year ago, this would have felt like a complete academic reality. Ten minutes down the road from where I live this goes on RIGHT NOW. Kep Thmey, Rolous, Totung Tngay and Kilo Dawp Pii are four villages I can name off the top of my head and drive my tiny 90cc motorbike to in under 20 minutes. Some corporate genius thought it would make perfect sense (and a ton of money) to fill in the delicate mangrove coastal areas to build factories. In the meantime the land fill going into the coast kills off all the easy-to-reach aquatic life, killing off important sea grass that ensures the continuity of the most important fishery in the region and put out of work most of the local fishing community. "No problem!", says He, "I've got a factory just down the road you can all work in". Well, no one really wants a factory job, and the factory manager only lets in people with a 'decent level of education' which exludes most of the local folk who don't have a 'decent education'. If this is the happy Consumerist utopia, I want nothing to do with it! Easier said than done in the heart of Empire, I'd wager.
So what can I do to escape from the Latter Day Saints of Consumerism?
REDUCE CARBON OUTPUT AND USE OF NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCES
- I'd like to live where I don't need a car.
- I'd ride a bike or catch the bus or train instead.
- buy more things second-hand
- I'd like to limit plane travel (which is not easy being an international family and an international organisation)
- I'll limit how much I buy and the kinds of things I do buy (I'll need to clarify this point somehow)
- I won't have a TV and expose myself to all the Consumerist evangelist tracts and discipleship materials.
- remember to take the cloth bags to the market (less plastic bags)
ADVOCACY AND STRUCTURAL CHANGE
- advocate on behalf of ecological injustices
- I'd like to think of some symbolic economic symbol (like Gandhi spinning yarn) that undermines Consumerism.
- I'm not paying taxes to Uncle Sam, at least not the military part of them.
- change our investments to an approach that does not fuel the Consumerist economy, but compassionate economic practices, non-war, non-nonrenewable resources. is there a compassionate approach to investment? if so, how?
DEVELOP CONSTRUCTIVE APPROACHES
- I'd like to grow my own veggies.
- I'd like to put my savings into things that don't fuel further Consumerism or war.
- I'd like to promote the non-obsolesence of older computers by installing open-source operating systems and software like lubuntu which breath new life into old computers.
- I'd like to find ways to resist buying new and make use of used. Furniture, appliances, some clothes, technological equipment (computers, phones, PDAs, cameras), toys for the kids (and me).
- buy ebooks instead of paperbooks or secondhand paperbooks instead of new.
I'm doing my best to go with ebooks instead of paperbooks. I'm guessing that an ebook is better than a paper book. It's not made of paper. It doesn't require a massive bookshelf to keep them on. There's also tons of free ebooks online. But, obviously electronics rely on power consumption, much of it coming from fosil fuels (Australia and Cambodia) or nuclear power (US).
But I don't want to be stingey and ungrateful to live. I want to live with joy and hope and compassion. I don't want to judge others who are Consumers, but I do want to offer choice alternatives.
I'd like to begin each morning with silent meditation, practicing awareness, before starting work. I'd also like to engage in some form of productive physical activity - not just 'exercise'. Eg, growing veggies, yard work, community service, and also see housework (washing dishes, clothes, cleaning up) more part of my spiritual practices, not seeing it as a barrier to life but integrated with it.
One big bad habit I really need to work on is forgetting to take the cloth bags to the market. In Cambodian they have real markets. And Cambodia market sellers LOVE to give you plastic bags. I buy doughnuts at one bakery once and asked for a cookie. I got one plastic bag for the doughnuts, one for the cookie and one bag to put everything together!
I'm also giving up Evangelicalism. I'm not sure what this post has to do with Evangelicalism, but while I'm talking about giving up stuff this came to mind. I actually kicked the habit several years back, but I'm coming out of the closet with this one. There's too much baggage with it, and little positive in it that I can see. The focus on evangelism and a morbid atonement through sacrificial substitution just doesn't do it for me any more. Have you ever really read the Apostles' Creed - which surely was never written by any of the original apostles. In the very middle it says Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary and in the next breath dies under Pontius Pilate. Where's the rest of it? So Jesus' life and ministry has no theological value at all? It just doesn't add up. And since Evangelicalism is so closely aligned to American State Religion, which is the same as Consumerism, I'm done with it. I will engage with it, see the good in it, learn from it, and be compassionate to those who subscribe to it, but I'm signing the divorce papers on it for good.
While I'm at it ...
I've realised that I should get out of organisational development and focus more on what I'm passionate about in transformational education and learning design.
And,
that my focus is not really (perhaps never has been) poverty, but is rather Violence, with a capital V. Physical, Structural and Cultural Violence. I make it my work - professional and spiritual - to work at transforming violence and violent systems/contexts using peace and nonviolence.
What does a compassionate response to Militarism look like? engagement, offering alternatives, listening to the needs behind Militarism (fear, need for physical and economic security and safety).
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