Hello Sarah, Anthony and all,
I think that I understand your argument against recycling, but I can't seem
to agree with it.
Granted this is a materialistic, throw-away culture but I don't see how
*not* recycling addresses the problem. It seems to me that we each should
follow John F.'s suggestion: conform to the 3 R's: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
as our own individual creed. It seems to me that any transformation of
social ways begins with one's own self. Even though I may/do falter, it is
necessary for the self to try to act in conformance with one's own beliefs.
Having taken that step, others will follow. Gradually one may, in that way,
find ways to change the "shop-til-you-drop mentality.
What is being called for is a major paradigm shift in the way humans think
about their relations with Mother Nature. That takes a long time, but it
will never happen if each individual waits until society as a whole changes
its own mind-set.
One individual cannot change all of society; but no change will ever happen
until some individuals commit themselves to *act* in a changed mode. After
all, when we cash in our chips at the end of the roulette wheel of life, we
need to be able to say, at least, that we *individually* tried.
IMHO, of course, for whatever it's worth.
Ray
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