A Response to "The Easy Way Out"

Sarah asked: "If there is such a need for shortcuts in society, how can we help allievate them? Are there any other things in our life that are decreasing our quality of health because of these shortcuts?"

I think one of the fundamental problems our society has that makes these sorts of short-cuts so tempting is the heavy emphasis we put on high productivity. We only have so much time in our days, so we, as a culture, want to get as much done as possible, lest we be seen as lazy and weak. This makes all sorts of short-cuts tempting to increase efficiency. Why sit at home and make yourself a nice, healthy breakfast when you can just drive through McDonald's and get a breakfast sandwich and a coffee? Why go to a library and read a book when you're a few clicks away to a summary of it on the internet? You can get more done by multitasking, or using these short cuts, and this is (wrongly, in my view) seen as virtuous.

These sorts of short-cuts, these easy ways out, are ultimately cheapening the value of our time and of our existence as human beings, and there are no quick or easy solutions to it. Nothing short of a major cultural shift will help to alleviate this powerful desire for ultra-efficiency, and as we have seen in our own society, it's usually the wealthy, the powerful and privileged individuals, who get to drive the cultural shift (there are too many examples to count on this -- heavy deregulation of industry, the Christian Right's take-over of conservatism, the Supreme Court ruling that corporations are people).

The only way to overcome these forces is to try to bring about a cultural shift in the opposite direction -- perhaps a campaign of civil disobedience, organized resistance to the unjust laws spewing forth from Congress and the Supreme Court, peaceful protests, sit-ins, strikes, and boycotts of corporations that violate international law and buy politicians to bend over to their will. Though I still insist that the option of armed resistance remain on the table -- as written in the Declaration of Independence:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." (Emphasis added)

Given the great many factors that would stand in opposition to such a grass-roots attempt at shifting the "mainstream" cultural values, and the general spirit of ignorance and complacency that has descended upon America and (most) Americans, while there is certainly virtue and value in attempting to resist these sorts of cultural forces, for any sort of campaign of this nature to be effective, it must be on a massive scale. I must admit, I have little hope of such a shift occurring until the number of people bracketed out of the system, alienated, used, abused, and ultimately cast aside by the corporations, becomes so great that the people have no choice but to rebel. For it is the poor who have nothing to lose (save their lives) and everything to gain (most importantly their dignity) from a revolution.

To end with a question: Given the cultural factors that push so many people in to these sorts of shortcuts, how likely is it that we, as a culture, will be able to overcome these forces before we have damaged the earth, and our government, beyond repair?